Learning How to Swim and Love
by Carl Solo
Summary: After Joel and Ellie arrive in Jackson, they try to have a normal life. After Ellie's sixteen birthday and some action in Jackson, Joel decides to teach her how to swim. But things get a little complicated when Ellie starts to have some new feelings for Joel and a new threat start to move to Jackson. Joel/Ellie, Tommy, Maria, David, OC. A third part is on the tinking.
1. Chapter 1 : A New Home

**Warning** : This Fan Fiction story: includes some violence, underage suggestion, strong language, Rape Suggestion, underage relationship suggestion and some sex scene in several chapters. If you don't like these themes, please do not read this story.

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

 **A/N:** Hi, I'd like to let you know that this is my first FanFiction Story. I read a lot of stories on this page for the past ten months, but this is the first time that I decided to write a story. I am not a writer and English is not my native language, so please take it a little easy if there are any mistakes or errors in the story, thanks. Also I want to thank (Lumy12) my FanFiction friend for helping me with the story and giving me the courage and support to write something in this FanFiction page, Thanks. Like I said this is my first story ever so I hope that some people like it. Also I want to LYK that this a fantasy world fiction, not real life situation. You can leave a review if you'd like, good or bad, but please do not leave personal hateful comments. Personal Hate comments will be removed, if you don't like this type of story don't read it, thanks.

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 **Chapter 1 : A New Home**

I wake up early in the morning to a very loud sound, _damn!_ Joel must have set the bedroom clock alarm again. I told him yesterday that I don't need to be at work too early today, the Doc is not in the clinic until eight o'clock. Joel is not in the bed so I think he must be down in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

I step out of the bed and go to the window; the sun has started to rise. The summer is going to start soon. Joel said that it's going to be hot this year, and there hasn't been much rain the past two months. I look back to the side of the bed where Joel sleeps and notice that it's a little wet. He must have sweat during the night; it was a little hot. Then I look at myself and see that I'm a little wet too, but only in the front. I must have snuggled up to him again during the night and got some of his sweat on me.

Yes, we are still together… my deepest fear is gone, at least for now. We live now in a town named Jackson in the old state of Wyoming, and it's led by Joel's brother, Tommy, and his wife, Maria. We encountered them inside the dam in the Fall almost two years ago, when Joel and I came here looking for the Fireflies. Joel thought that his brother might have had some information on where we could find the Fireflies group. But when we were here, some bandits attacked the place, and Joel and his brother had to defend it. After that, I discovered that Joel was planning on leaving me there so Tommy could take me to the Fireflies.

I tried to go away, but Joel and his brother found me... then things changed, and Joel and I ended up going together. In our journey, we encountered many difficulties that culminated in a lot of sorrow. Joel got injured and almost died, during the Winter I got captured by a bunch of cannibal maniacs, and what happened there is something I'm never going to forget.

After that, we made it to Salt Lake City where the Fireflies were supposed to be, and I thought, " _Yes, finally I'm going to finish my destiny!"_ I was going to be the cure for the Cordyceps fungus virus. But something happened in the tunnel we had to cross before we could get to the hospital, and I almost drowned trying to save Joel . I don't remember the rest; when I woke up, I was in a car with Joel. Then he started to tell me all that happened. He drove for hours until the car didn't work anymore, and when he saw that he couldn't fix the car, we started to walk. Then Joel told me that we were going back to see his brother.

Before we got there, I started to think that the story Joel told me didn't make much sense. I know that he's not telling me everything: why did the Fireflies stop looking for the cure? Why didn't they wake me up in the hospital? and why didn't he tell me the reason Marlene let me go with him? But I think that if I'm here with him, Marlene must not care much for me, now that I don't hold the cure for the world. I know that she was my mother's friend, but the only thing she had in her mind was the Fireflies. Even so, I made him swear that the story he told me was true, and he did. I looked him in the eyes and I knew that he was lying or not telling the all the truth, but after thinking for a moment, I said... "Okay!"

When we arrived at the front gate of the town, Joel quickly told me to put my hand in the air when the guard on the gate aks who we are and what we want. Joel told them his name and that he was Tommy's big brother, the guard called through the radio and asked for Tommy, then Tommy ordered them to open the gate. After we entered the town, Tommy arrived with Maria to welcome us. He gave Joel a big hug and Maria gave one to me. It felt so good that I tried to forget all about Joel's lie at that moment.

After a day in town, I tried not to dwell on Joel's story, even though I knew that he wasn't telling me the truth, at least not completely. _Well,_ I thought, _at least we're together and I can try to make this work for us and I'm not ending up alone anymore._ I thought, _At least he fights for me, keeps me safe, and along the way I started to care a lot about him_... I think he feels the same for me. A few days after our arrival in Jackson and his brother welcoming us with open arms, I thought that that was great. I was going to live with Joel and his family...Wow I was going to have a real family, something I've never had before. I thought that my love for Joel would make me forget in time and that all this was going to be great.

Jackson was a small town, just five or six streets with houses. Tommy said that when the outbreak started, the little people that lived here wanted to make this town safe so they started to build a fence and some fortification walls around the town to keep the infected and hunters out. There are like two hundred people living in here now; they scavenge for some medicine and supplies, sometimes they go and hunt or trade with other survivors. But they make almost all the food we consume, which is a little limited, but I think that we're doing fine. For most of the food they have two big greenhouses (well, that is what they call them). I didn't know what that was but then Joel explained that that's where they grow vegetables and other plants that they use. I thought that was cool - we didn't have any of that in Boston.

They also have some kind of church that they sometimes use as a school for the little children. Joel tried to put me in the school class, but I told him that no way was I going to do that, I had enough of that back in the military in Boston. They also have some kind of a store, it's where they put all the supplies and things they find or trade. Also, they have a clinic and a farm with some animals that I've never seen before - Joel had to tell me their names. They have a stable, too, where they keep the horses. I like horses.

Even though we've been living here for a little more than a year, we don't know many of the people who live here. We lived with Tommy and Maria for the first two weeks; after that, Tommy offered Joel a house to live in. The house was not in perfect shape, but it was a place for us. After Tommy gave us the key for the house, we started to work on the things most in need of repair. I did not know shit about repairing things, but Joel knew everything about that; he told me that he worked in construction back in the old days. We worked on the house for three weeks until it was ready.

After finishing the house, we spent like two months alone there, making things right and trying to get used to it - it was very rare for us to live in a house in a secure town. After a while, we tried to fit in, especially Joel. He is not much of a people person - well, me either, but he needed to work. Not everything in here is free - you need to work for it. In a way, I prefer to be with Joel most of the time; I don't much like being surrounded by people I don't know, and I don't think that they like me very much ether. In the first few months, I was still having nightmares, but Joel always tried to make me feel better and safe. We slept in one room. At first, he just slept in a chair in there, but when I woke up from a bad dream, I asked him if he would get in bed with me. He didn't protest much, but always said that it was only until I fell asleep again.

He's always watching me to be sure that I'm okay. Joel didn't really trust anyone here at first, just his brother and maybe Maria. We spent some time with Tommy and Maria, but Joel somehow almost always ended up in an argument with his brother… never anything serious, at least not in front of me. But he always said to me that it was okay, that he loves his brother and that brothers always argue.

Tommy and Maria, they were always busy (they have to run the town… well, Maria was the one that was really in charge), but they always had time for us, especially Maria. They don't have any children yet, so Maria treats me as if I were her niece. I once asked Joel why they didn't have kids if they'd been married for a long time, and Joel told me that they're trying but not having any luck. After a few more months, Tommy found a perfect job for Joel since he worked before in construction, Tommy put him to work with some people that work on that and that was a great start for him.

He started to work on repairing houses and things like that. Sometimes when there wasn't much to repair, he volunteered for the hunting party and some of the scavenger runs. I tried to convince him to take me with him, but he always said no. He used the excuse that since I was only fifteen, I couldn't go outside with him because it was too dangerous. Fuck, like we didn't spend almost a whole year out there and survive. When he had to go outside, he didn't like the idea of leaving me alone in town. So he asked Maria to watch me - yeah! like if I were a little kid. Sometimes I _hate_ that.

Sometimes he did take me with him if he needed to go to the dam to do some work there. But after we got into some trouble with some bandits that tried to attack the dam again, he didn't take me outside anymore... fucking bandits, they have to ruin everything. In the year that we've been living here, some hunters and bandits tried to take Jackson several times, but the people defended the town very well, and they stopped coming back, at least for now. After that, Tommy and Maria called for a town meeting and decided that they need to build more towers and reinforce the fence.

Thanks to the engineers that work in the dam, we have electricity for the house and fence. We also have clean water for the houses and other uses. When we arrived at Jackson, Joel, Tommy, and Maria decided that keeping my condition secret from the rest of the town was the best way to not create any problems or panic. But since we didn't know much about my condition, they took me to the town doctor so he could check on it. At first, he was fascinated, of course; Tommy and Maria didn't tell him about how the Fireflies tried to find a cure for the virus and then quit. Well, that is the story that Joel said, that I still have my doubts about... I just don't want to think about it.

So he took some blood samples to study it; a few weeks later, he asked for us. He told us what he found with the limited medical equipment they have. I asked if since I was immune could he find a cure for the virus, but he said that he didn't have the equipment or the knowledge for that. Joel quickly tried to change the subject and asked him if I could have a normal life, like I'm not a danger... or if I could infect someone. But he said that the test he ran showed that somehow the virus in me had mutated and that I couldn't infect anyone. That the the amount of the fungus in my body was not high enough to pass on to other people. At least not by bite or saliva, but that he wasn't sure about blood contact. So he said that he needed to do more tests on that to be sure and said that I have to be careful about it, that I have to try to ensure that nobody comes into contact with my blood.

Maria told him not to say any of this to anybody, and he agreed, but he asked me to come back to do more tests. After that, he checked Joel. He asked Joel who had dressed the wound in his abdomen, and Joel told him that I was the one that saved his life. When he checked my work, he saw that I was good about attending wounds, and he offered me a job helping him sometimes in the clinic - that way he got some help and could also keep checking my condition. I asked Joel if I could do that, and Joel asked Maria if that was okay with her. She looked at me and told me that if I was careful and did what the doctor said, that she would have no problem with that.

After that, Maria find me a job in the greenhouse and some time in the stables. Working with the horses was kind of cool because I love them. After a few weeks, it all become routine, and a few months later, I made a few friends. Joel did, too. Well... only one, I think, an old man like him...Mmmnn I think Harold is the name of the guy. Only a few people have arrived in the year since we got here...and we don't have many problems with the people here. We've been living in peace, happy as can be as a family.

Family... that is a strong word, because, well... I don't know exactly what Joel and I are: friends, partners, or family. But I know for now that I'm happy to live here together. My sixteenth birthday is going to be in a few weeks now, so I know that Joel is going to prepare something for me - I'm so excited about what the surprise is going to be. I tried to get what it was out of Maria or Tommy but they said that they had no idea.

The smell of breakfast wakes me out of my thoughts, so I get out of bed and put on my normal clothes for work. When I start heading down the stairs, I hear Joel singing - so he is happy today! Ha! Maybe I can make him tell me about my birthday gift. I smile and for the first time in my life I feel so happy in our new home.

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 **A/N : You can review if you like and if you found any grammatical error please LMK thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2 : Nightmares and Dreams

**Warning** : This Fiction story includes: some violence, underage suggestion, strong language, rape suggestion, rape scene, underage relationship suggestion and some sex scene in several chapters. If you don't like these themes, please do not read this story.

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

 **A/N:** Hi I'm still working on this story, so I will try to post a chapter once a week until I finish. The story is not too long just maybe 13-15 chapters, maybe more but that going to depend of the chapter I have left. This is a Ellie/Joel story, following the story of the game but the relationship between Ellie/Joel is not like in the game as Daughter and Father. So this story is not canon to the game, it's more like the romantic kind of love and relationship. This is going to be a slow process so just go with the story and I hope people like it, thanks.

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 **Chapter 2 : Nightmares and Dreams**

 ***Summer***

I went to sleep early last night, I think... now I open my eyes, but everything is dark. I think that I'm in the bedroom. Then I can see an orange light that is starting to illuminate the place: _is it morning already?_

Then I hear something! It sounds like something is on fire! _The house in on fire?_ I try to get up off the bed, but I can't see anything. "JOEL!...JOEL!" I start to call him but he doesn't respond. Then I can hear someone talking, _is that Joel? NO!_ I recognize that voice, and when I try to focus my eyes, I can see him now.

"Noooooo!" I scream. "It's him, it can't be! He is dead - I killed him!" Then I look around and see that this is not the bedroom, that I am back in that restaurant place, the fire, the smoke... I can feel all that again like it's real, like I'm back there, in that awful winter, but it can`t be.

"I hope you are comfortable," he says. "Dinner's almost ready."

I hear him speak to me and it wakes me up out of my thoughts!

I look at him and give him a most disgusting expression. I never thought I was going to see his face again... this is wrong, way wrong. _I'm back there_?

"I`m not going to have any fucking dinner with you!" I shout at him. _Why am I here again_ , I think, _this is not supposed to happen!_ "You are dead!"

"Oh! Is that what you think?" he says with a sarcastic tone.

"Yes! Because I killed you!" I yell again.

"Oh Ellie, Ellie, Ellie, that hurts my feelings. I thought that we were friends!"

"WHAT? Are you fucking kidding me! I never want to be anything with you!" I yell, but he just laughs.

I can't stand this anymore so I try to leave, but I can't move, and when I look, I'm sitting at a table in the middle of the restaurant. I am back in that awful place again. I take a look at the door and see that it is on fire! Just like last time, so I can't escape.

The fire is starting to spread all over the place. I try to get up from the table, but it's in vain; it's like I'm tied up in here, but I can't see anything that suggests that. I try again, but can`t move. I look at him and he's just there cooking something in the kitchen, like nothing is happening.

"He's coming for me, you know, and when he does, you will regret it," I tell him.

"Who are you talking about?" he says, looking at me with shocked eyes.

"Joel," I answer.

"You mean the old man that was in the basement in that old house?"

"What?" I say, looking at him.

"Oh! Do not worry, my men found him. He was not in good shape, so I told them to bring him here."

"Where is he? What did you do to him?!" I yell at him.

"Now, don't be in such a rush, my little love! What happens to him... that will depend on you. He is going to be my little insurance policy." He laughs and starts to talk again. "If you behave and do what I ask, he's going to live! So now you see, no one is coming to rescue you, because nobody cares."

"He does! He loves me, he cares about me!"

"Ha ha, is that what you think? He was only using you."

"Liar!" I yell at him.

"Well, if he cares so much about you, why did he let you go out alone? Why didn't he come here and try to help you?"

"Because he was injured - and you…you did something to him!"

"Like I said, his life is going to depend on you. Dinner is ready so let's start with our romantic dinner."

I see that he put what he was cooking on two plates and came out from the kitchen to the table.

 _This is not real_ , I think. _Just fucking wake up!_ _It has to be a dream! I'm so scared._

He walks in front of me and puts the two plates of food on the table. One in front of me and the other in front of himself. The fire starts to surround us and I try to move again, but I can`t.

He sits down, starts to look at me, and smiles. I look at him with an unpleasant expression on my face. I just want to wake up and put an end to this horrible nightmare! _Because this is a nightmare! Right?_

Then he speaks again.

"Oh my little love! You must eat all your food now, because you're going to need all the energy you can get," he says, laughing! "Oh! I think I still have a bottle of wine - do you like wine?"

"I'm not going to eat anything! I just want to see Joel, you asshole, so let me go!"

"Well, if you want to see him, you need to behave, and after we finish dinner, we're going to have a little fun! And if you try something stupid, the next time you see your old man it's going to be an unpleasant view! Now eat!" he says with a firm voice.

I just want to to kill him again, but I don't have anything to do it with. I wish I had that machete again. He points to the plate and tells me to eat again, and when I look at the plate, there's a human hand there!

 _No!_ I can't believe my eyes - _is that one of Joel's hands?_ _Nooooo!_

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

Then I open my eyes and everything is dark again, I don't remember where I am! My heart is beating like it's going to get out of my chest and I'm all sweaty. I try to focus my eyes to see around me, but I can't see anything. I'm scared, and then Joel's hand comes to my mind... "Damn it! Joel!" I scream for him.

But he's not here, he is not in the bed! _Where is he?_ Then I remember that I'm in my own room now. I get up off the bed and go for the door and open it, and then I get out of the room and go to Joel`s room, which is in front of mine. I open the door and look for him. The light is out so I call out to him, but he doesn't answer, and when I turn on the light in the room, he is not there. _Fuck, where is he?_ I think.

Then I decide to look for him - I get out of the room and run down the stairs to the first floor of the house. I enter the living room to check if he's sleeping on the couch like he's done other times, but he's not there, either. _Fuck! Where are you, Joel?_ I start to panic. Then I go to the kitchen to see if Joel's gun is missing. He always puts the hunter rifle in a closet close to the kitchen door just in case something happens, he always want to be prepared. I start to check if there's something that can tell me where he is and when I look at the kitchen table, I see a note sitting with some fruits in a plastic container. I pick up the note and I start to read it:

 _Hi baby girl! I left you some breakfast on the table, so you can eat something in the morning before you go to do your chores for the day. I have a double shift today so I'm going to be late this morning, don't wait for me. See you later._

 _Love,_

 _Joel_

 _Shit!_ I forgot that Tommy's been giving him the night shift on the wall, for the past month. I don't understand why Joel has accepted that; I know that Tommy needs the help, but sometimes I feel so lonely at night. I check the clock on the wall close to the old fridge and damnit, it's only 3:00 in the morning. Then I start to remember what just happened. There's no way I'm going back to sleep alone in that room after that nightmare - and this is now the fourth time this month.

I start to remember that after my birthday last month, Joel told me that now that I'm sixteen, he decided it was time for me to get my own room and have some privacy. That that was a normal thing for teenage girls back in the old world. _Fuck! Joel, when are you going to get that we don't live in that world anymore._

I start to look around... the house that Tommy and Maria gave us is not big, but it's big for just the two of us. It's a two story house, the upstairs has a bathroom and two bedrooms. There's a small bedroom that we keep empty. When we moved in, the little room needed some fixing, but since it wasn't going to be used for the time being, we left it like that. The other room is bigger; the two bedrooms face each other. But after we moved in, we started to sleep in the big one together, sometimes in the same bed.

Those times were good because I slept great and didn't have many nightmares. Then before my sixteenth birthday, Joel decided to fix the room. He didn't tell me why he wanted to do that, but he started to fix the small room. At first, he said that he didn't want Tommy and Maria to find out that sometimes we were sleeping together in the same bed. So he started to look for some furniture for the room, and some of it he made himself. He found a small bed frame and a mattress, and he made something that you can put the clothes in, too.

When he finished everything, it was the day before my birthday. Then he said that he had a surprise for me and covered my eyes with his hand. Then he took me up the stairs and opened the room door, took his hand off of my eyes and yelled " _Surprise!"_ to me. I kept looking around and asked him what the surprise was. Then he told me that the new room was mine, that that was my birthday gift. Yeah, I think that was more of a punishment than a present.

I smiled and gave him a hug, trying not to show my sad face. He seemed happy thinking that I liked his present, and I didn't want to disappoint him. But then I thought that after all that happened when we were out there, I always feel safe when I'm close to Joel and now I was going to sleep alone in that room. Downstairs, the house has a living room and the kitchen. The house has two doors, one in the front and one in the kitchen that leads to a little back yard.

 _Fuck, Joel, I was okay sleeping in your room together, even if for the few months before my birthday it wasn't in the same bed. I had more pleasant dreams back then and felt safer… now I'm just having nightmares again_ , I say to myself.

I put the note back on the table. "Love," he put in the note - I like the sound of that! He doesn't use that word too much. I feel more relaxed now, I think that my heart is beating like normal again. But he put "baby girl" too, and I know he called his daughter that, so now that makes things more confusing. I don't know if it's going to be a good idea to talk to Joel about that, or about the nightmares I'm having again. I know if I do that, he is going to treat me just like a kid again… _Damn it, Joel, I'm more adult than most of the people in this town_. But now… waking up in the middle of the night scared isn't helping me, either. But I have to do something… yeah, maybe I can talk to Maria… get her to persuade Tommy to not give Joel the night shift, at least not every day.

I move from the kitchen to the living room and look through the window; it's still dark. _Shit_ , _it's 3:30am and now I'm all sweaty and tired. I have to go clean myself a little and change my nightclothes_. So I go up the stairs and get to the bathroom so that I can take off the sweaty t-shirt and short pants I was using to sleep in, get a little cleaned up, and change my clothes.

When I enter the bathroom, I strip off my sweaty clothes and clean myself. When I finish, I go to get some clean clothes, but see that one of Joel's shirts is hanging on the door. For some reason, I take the shirt and go to my room, then put on clean underwear and Joel's shirt; for some reason I want to smell the shirt and when I do… wow, it still smells like him. I don't understand why, but that way I can feel like Joel is close to me.

 _Shit, Joel! I miss you. Why do I miss you so much?_

Then, I know I can`t go sleep in my room alone again for the rest of the night, so I go to Joel's room and get into the bed. I can feel Joel's warmth on the bed and smell Joel's scent through the shirt. That brings back memories… this is the very closest I can get to Joel in a long time. Yes, we still do things together in the afternoons, but at night, I feel so lonely now. Then I put my head on the pillow and close my eyes. In no time, I start to think of Joel, and all the time we were together when we were on the road out there… when I asked too many questions about the old world before the infection… when I took out my joke book and tried to make Joel laugh. _Man, that was almost impossible!_

I hug the pillow, and start dreaming of Joel, like he is right there hugging me… touching. He is facing me and starts to use his big hand, caressing my cheek with the back of his hand. "You are so beautiful," he says.

For some reason, I start to feel hot. I try to look into Joel's eyes, and see what he wants to do next, but he doesn't move. Then I move my hand and touch Joel's face. Now I want to do one thing: kiss him. And he's right there in front of me, looking at me with lust in his eyes. So I start to move and get close to him, and put my lips closer to Joel's… I kiss him and kiss him like it's the end of the world.

Then I wake up. _Shit, that was intense! What is wrong with me?_

After that, I calm down a little... I feel good and relaxed. I try to think about what just happened, but decide to think about that later. I put my head on the pillow again, close my eyes, and fall asleep again.

I sleep so well for the rest of the night.

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 **A/N : I want to say thanks to the people that are reading this story. Also want to thanks to all the writers who write TLOU stories, it's because of them that I got inspired to do one too.**


	3. Chapter 3 : The life in Jackson Part-1

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

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 **A/N:** Hi I want to let the people that read this story know that my native language is Spanish. I write this story in English because I like to do it in that language, so that way it can get to more people. My English and grammar is not very good, so I asked a friend (lumy12), who by the way I found reading in this fandom, to help me. I write the story, I will take the credit for that, but she helps me to edit the grammar of my story and she deserves the credit for that. If you see that the English is good it's because of her, I want the people that read this to have the best writing possible in this story. Google translate and the program that corrects in the PC help a lot too. I thank this person very much for making this possible for me, that is why I dedicate this story to her. Thanks to all the people reading this story and I hope that you like it, like I said before this is the first time I've done something like this, I just read a lot of them but have never written one.

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 **Chapter 3 : The life in Jackson Part-1**

I start to wake up when the light of the morning sun enters through the window. "Shit!" I say, "what time is it?" I take out the blanket that I was using to sleep last night and use one hand to rub the sleepiness from my eyes. Then I look at the clock that Joel has on a small table in his room: it's 8:30 in the morning. _Okay, I need to go to work... damn it, I'm going to be late! Unnnn why am I in Joel's room and ahhh - and with his clothes on? ... oh yeah! The nightmare...Fuck! That bastard again._ But then I had that strange dream about Joel...

 _Joel! Wow, that was ummm… intense! But at the same time… it was kind of good!_ It made me sleep well for the rest of night and kept me from having that bad dream again. But I need to find out why I'm having those kind of dreams about Joel, it's not like we did something like that before. I mean kissing and touching... well, we snuggle in bed before, but not like that. Well, I know that I've had some dreams about Joel before and I think that I feel some kind of love for him, but not like a father… maybe like some something more. I know that we've protected each other in the past, and now we have some good times together… well, when he's actually here... and I've been thinking of him a lot lately.

Speaking of Joel… he's supposed to be here by now, his shift on the wall ends at 7:00 in the morning, so where is he? Maybe he's downstairs preparing breakfast, Unnn that is going to be good and maybe I can forgive him for not being here last night when I needed him. I get out of the bed and start to walk to the door and open it, then I start down the stairs when I remember the note that Joel left on the kitchen table last night. _Yeah, he said that he has a double shift today, so that means that he is not here and that I'm not going to see him much today, shit, that sucks!_

 _Damn!_ 8:50 in the morning, I'm going to be late, _"Fuck!"_

I run to my room and go to change as fast as I can, putting on some jeans, a t-shirt, and the sneakers that Joel gave me last Christmas; those are my regular clothes for going to work. Then I take my mother's switchblade from my bedside table and put it in the back pocket of my jeans - that is the only thing that I have from my journey with Joel. I lost the rest of my things: my mother's note, the walkman, all my comic books... Joel found some when he went out hunting or scavenging for the town, but it's not the same, and not even from the same stories that I was reading before.

I go to the bathroom and brush my teeth, then go downstairs to the kitchen where Joel left me some fruit and a sandwich for breakfast. I sit at the kitchen table and eat the sandwich, then I take a biscuit that Maria brought us yesterday morning. I eat the biscuit and drink some milk. After finishing that, I take the plate and put that in the sink, and take an orange for the road. _Damn! Why am I so hungry today!_

Before I go to work, I take a look at the interior of the house again, feeling so lonely… then I start to remember when Tommy and Maria gave us the house. Joel and I were so excited… well, me more than him, that we were going to have a little privacy and have a house of our own. After we fixed up the house, Joel asked Tommy where he could get some furniture for the house. Tommy told him that there's some old abandoned houses at the end of town that would maybe have some things that he could use. Joel and I did go scavenging in the abandoned houses and found some things that we could use.

We were so happy to work on the house - that gave us more time together and was really fun. I was so happy that Joel tried to teach me how to do some things in the house like cleaning and repairs. We didn't have much to do back then so that was good, I was so happy that we had a home now… _yeah, Joel and me living together like a family or whatever we are now._

On the first floor was a little kitchen and the living room and a little storage closet. On the second floor was two bedrooms and the bathroom. Tommy and Maria came to visit and help a little when we worked on the house. They gave us a fridge and stove so we could cook our own food, that was great - he said that that was his welcome gift but that Joel would have to get the rest of the furniture for the house.

After a while, they tried to introduce us to some of the people of Jackson; of course, since it was just us for almost a year, that was not an easy task for Tommy and Maria.

Tommy tried to give us space for a little while because he knew his brother well, but he said that we needed to do some work in the town, because that's the way people in Jackson pay for the things and food they need. He said that since money doesn't have any value now, people can pay in hours of service for the town. The process is that Maria and the people in town can give all kinds of jobs to others; and when the job is done they give them a receipt with the hours that they work so they can use that to buy food and things from the store.

So a few months after we finished the house, we tried to get to know some people and get used to our new life in Jackson. Joel was not too happy about that: we tried to fit in, but that was not easy with his temperament, and the issue that he didn't trust anybody here, so that was going to be hard.

He was always trying to protect me, wherever we went, and he told me that I have to always carry my pocketknife, just in case. Joel also told me that he wants me to have some kind of normal life, but I don't know what is normal in this world when you're some kind of freak. Maria introduced us to the people in one of Jackson's meetings. At first, it was okay, I think that some of the people liked us - until one resident started to question Joel and tell him that having us here was a mistake, because he knew that Joel was an ex-hunter. Of course that didn't end well. Joel quickly started to insult the guy and almost hit him, then the guy tried to turn some of the people against us. It took a long time for Maria and Tommy to calm the situation down. After that meeting, I saw that some of the people don't trust newcomers or ex-hunters. After the incident, not many people talked to us much, except for a few people that tried to welcome us to the town. Tommy and Maria said that we need to give the people a little time to get to know us better.

"Wow, I can't believe that we've been living here for more than a year and they haven't thrown us out yet," I muse. Then I give it one final look, go to the front door, get out of the house, and close the door behind me.

I start to walk across the street, to get to my work for today. _Well, I need to go back to the life in Jackson_ _and to_ _the same routine every day,_ I say to myself, _what is today? Oh, Wednesday! So it's the greenhouse today - good. Maybe Claudia will have some new stories to tell about Jackson or the old world, I love those_. Claudia is one of the original people that started living in here. Well, that's what Tommy said, anyway. _She is like Joel's age, like forty-nine or something, well, I think!_ She and her husband were the ones in charge of the greenhouse until last year, when in one of the town raids, her husband got killed. Now it's just her in charge, and she has a daughter that works there with her now.

She has other people working in there too. Most of them are the teenagers of this town, just like me. The greenhouse was my first job that I did here, then Maria found another job for me to do, working with the farm animals, and of course I accepted the job that Dr. Wilson offered me in the beginning. So Tuesday and Thursday I work with Dr. Wilson in the clinic, Friday and some Saturdays I work with the animals, more in the stables with horses... that is cool... and Mondays and Wednesdays I work in the greenhouse. The greenhouse is where most of the food is grown. Claudia told me that everyone in her family were farmers, so that is why Maria's father put her in charge when they started to build the greenhouse and started to make this place safe for the people, when the cordyceps outbreak started.

Claudia explained to me when I started to work there, that in the greenhouse they grow most of the vegetables and fruit. She told me that the climate in Wyoming is sometimes too cold and that is why this place is so special, because the climate inside is warm and it can be controlled. They also grow some plants that the Doc uses for medicine...wow, that is so cool.

I like to work there for two reasons: first, Claudia always has a story to tell - I like good stories - and second, her daughter Jenna is my best friend now... I think that she is my only real friend here. Well, there's always Tommy and Maria, but they are Joel's family, so I think of them more like family too, not as friends.

Jenna is two years older than me so that makes her eighteen, but she is so cool and we talk all the time. If not for her, I would really feel so lonely here, now that Joel doesn't spend much time with me anymore. But I think that some of the other teenagers don't like me much, so that is why I don't get along with them. Jenna tells me that she can't believe that I've been here for more than a year and still don't know many of the people that live here or have more friends.

 _Well, it's not like Joel and I like to be very social with people, especially Joel! Wow, that man never stops worrying about me and being so protective._ He tells me that I have to be careful with some people and that if I get in any trouble that I have to look for him, Tommy, or Maria, that he doesn't trust anyone else in here, except for Tommy and Maria, and even so, he argues with his brother a lot. I think that is why not many people like us. Tommy always said that in time we would make more friends. Well, at least I have one, and Claudia and the Doc are cool, too. One day, Tommy asked Joel to go with him to the little bar that they have in town, so he can make some friends, but he always makes some excuse so he doesn't have to go. But I think I like him that way. He is always caring for me and protecting me - I feel so lucky sometimes, and sometimes I wish I could have him all for myself… _Wait... What! Why am I suddenly starting to think like that? Shit! What is wrong with me?_ Okay, there's the greenhouse... I hope that Claudia doesn't get too mad because I`m late.

So I go inside the greenhouse, I try to be cool and hope that.. _shit!_ Claudia sees me and she doesn't look very happy.

"Hello, Ellie," says Claudia. "You're late! You were supposed to be here at 9:00am."

"I know, I know, sorry…" I pause to try to think of what to say. I decide to tell the truth - well, part of it. "Sorry, it's just that I didn't get much sleep last night, and I woke up late."

"And Joel let you?" Claudia asks, surprised.

"He was not home this morning, he has a double shift today," I try to explain.

"Well, I think that it's okay, Ellie, it's just one hour late, and today there's not much to do anyway. But try next time to get here on time, oh! and Monday, you have to work an extra hour, okay? And try not to make a habit of this. Okay?" Claudia says.

"Okay! No problem, thanks, Claudia," I say. "So let's get started then... by the way, where is Jenna?"

"I sent her with Brad to get more fertilizer from the town store, they will be back in an hour."

"Okay," I say, "so what should I do?"

"Well, there are some vegetables that we need to collect and clean, so we can start with that."

"Okay." I walk with Claudia to the other part of the greenhouse to start the work. I hope that Jenna comes back soon; it's more fun when I work with her. The greenhouse was actually two big barns from the original town. Claudia told me that when the people saw in the news about the cordyceps infection starting, people that lived in Jackson started to panic and leave; only a few stayed. Maria's father was the manager of the winter resort hotel a few kilometers up on the mountains.

She said that he had a house here in the small town, so he came back to Jackson to start to organize the people that hadn't left the town. That way they could wait for the military or Fema or whatever government agency that was in charge of helping the people with the outbreak, to come and help them. But after five months, the help never came. She told me that Roger, Maria's father, convinced people that even if the government didn't come to help, they could still make Jackson a safe place to live, and that if they worked together, they would survive.

* * *

"Hey, Miller!" Albert, one of the Jackson residents, calls from the bottom of the watchtower.

"Yes!" Joel answers him with a disgusted voice.

"Did you see anyone from Harold's patrol this morning?" Albert asks.

"No, but why don't you ask the guys in charge of the front gate?" Joel suggests.

"I already did that, and that is why I'm here asking you. Look, I'm not happy to come here and talk to you, but Tommy sent me to ask you if you know something or have seen anything."

"Oh he did!" Joel says with a surprised face.

"Look, I know that we don't like each other, but this is serious!"

"Oh, really? Isn't that supposed to be your job? Keeping track of the people that go out on patrol?" says Dylan, Joel's partner on the wall.

"Yes it is," says Albert.

"Oh, and don't forget keeping the peace in town, too…" Joel says with a smile as he tries to get to him.

"Fuck you, Miller," Albert says. "Are you two going to help or not? This is serious - the guards on the gate said that they were supposed to come back early in the morning from the dam, and they haven't returned yet. Tommy told me that he tried to contact them but didn't get any reply, so he sent me here to check if someone's seen them."

"Well, they did not pass through this way," says Dylan.

"Why don't you go and check in with the south gate? Maybe they know something," Joel says.

"I did that too, asshole! I did not come here to have a chat with you, and I don't care if you are Tommy`s brother. I came because he told me to, just doing my job."

"Yeah, and you do it wonder…" Dylan starts to say when he's disrupted by some people yelling close to the front gate.

"Open the gate! Open the gate!" someone yells from outside the town.

"Shit, it's them!" says Albert and starts to run to the gate.

"Wait here, kid!" Joel says to Dylan, and starts to climb down the watchtower. "I will go there and check."

When Joel gets to the gate, the guard was just opening the front gate and letting the men enter. Joel recognizes one of the men. Yes, they were the men from Harold's patrol... _but there's only two of them, so where's Harold and the other one?_ Joel thinks.

"What happened? Where are Harold and Pete?" Albert asks the two men.

"Infected! A lot of them," answers one of the men.

"Infected?" says Albert. "How come, we cleared all the path to the dam more than two years ago!"

"Does that really matter? Where is Harold?" says Joel, interrupting Albert.

"What the hell are you doing here, Miller? This isn't your problem so why don't you get back to your post!" Albert tells him angrily.

"Oh... Shut up! If this means that infected can attack this place, this is a concern to everyone," Joel says, looking to Albert and then turning to face the two men.

"It's okay, I don't think they're coming this way! Plus we killed a lot of them, too. But we lost Pete and two horses: the third one ran away and then Harold took the last one to lead the infected away from here."

Joel gets close to them and looks at the man who has some kind of injury. "What happened to him?" he asks.

"Did he get bitten?" asks Albert with a worried expression.

"No!" says the man who was helping him walk. "He just twisted his ankle and got some cuts when the infected attacked us and he fell from his horse!"

"Okay - he needs medical attention. Albert!" Joel yells, "use your radio to contact Tommy and tell him to come here quick."

"Hey!" Albert tries to protest, but Joel cuts him off quickly.

"We don't have time for this so just do it!" Joel looks at Albert when he starts to talk on the radio to call Tommy. Then he takes a look at the gate - the two men in charge were closing the gate. In desperation as the gate closes, knowing that his friend is still out there, he says to Albert, "We need to send some men out there, if we want to find Harold before something happens to him!"

 **To be continued...**.


	4. Chapter 4 : The life in Jackson Part-2

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

 **A/N:** Hi, I want to say thanks to all the people that are giving a chance to this story. I know that this is my first story, and I don't know if it's going to be good, but I'm glad that some people out there take the time to read it. So thank you and hope that you liked.

* * *

 **Chapter 4 : The life in Jackson Part-2**

Twenty minutes have passed when Tommy arrives at the clinic to check on what just happened to Harold's patrol. Tommy sees that Dr. Wilson is attending one of the men and Joel is talking to the other one.

"Hey Doc! How's he doing?" says Tommy when he gets close to the town doctor.

"Well, the good news is that he didn't get bitten, so no risk on the CBI virus infection; I patched the wounds and gave him some antibiotics so I think he is going to be okay, on those… but the bad news is that he has a fracture in his ankle and he can't walk for at least one month. We don't have any way to do a cast for now, so I have to make a splint on his foot and give him something for the pain. So he's going to be out for a few hours. Also, he needs to stay here for at least two days, his family can take him home after that."

"Okay! But his wife and son are with Carl`s supply trade trip, so he's going to need to

stay here longer than that," says Tommy.

"Okay, that is not going to be a problem, Tommy," says the doctor.

"Thanks, Doc," says Tommy, and he starts to walk over to where Joel and the other man are.

"Tommy!" says Joel when he gets close.

"Okay, can somebody explain what happened, and where are Harold and Pete?" Tommy asks with a concerned expression.

"We were attacked by infected last night when we were on patrol," says the man that was talking with Joel.

"Infected?!" yells Tommy. "How can that even be possible - we cleaned out all the area close to the dam years ago, and we haven't seen any infected around here in more than a year."

"Well, Harold found some old houses two weeks ago, passing the north hills crossing the river, and he decided to go this time to check them out. He said that it wouldn't take much time," the

man continues to explain.

"Shit, He was supposed to go to the dam only and come back here, not go on any scavenger run without contact"- Tommy doesn't get to finish.

Joel interrupts the conversation. "Tommy!" he says, "it don't matter what happened there, right now we need to send someone to find him."

"Yeah, Tommy, we lost Pete and three horses -" The man is interrupted.

"Can we stop wasting time! We need to find Harold before it's too late," says Joel.

"Right!" says Tommy. "Okay, Carl is on a supply trip so we don't have much choice here..." Tommy puts his hand on his head and starts to think.

"Tommy!" Joel says, "Dylan and I can go, we just need to get some weapons and prepare some horses and we can be ready in an hour."

"That's too risky, Joel, I can't send just two men out there. I know that Harold is your friend and he is very important to the security of the town, but we don't know how many infected might be out there. Okay, I can check on Albert and see if he can get some men and go!"

"Tommy, we ain't got time for this," says Joel.

"Okay, brother, I can just tell Albert to go with you two!" says Tommy.

"NOOO!" Joel yells at Tommy, "I'm not going out there with that man, are you fucking joking?"

"Joel, he is in charge of the patrol thing and the security, it's his job. You still have a problem with him? I thought that you two had already resolved all your problems," says Tommy.

"Yeah right!" Joel says. "He just likes to piss me off, every time he sees me. I'm not going out with him."

"Okay! Jesus, I'll send someone to prepare the horses and you go find Dylan and get what you two need. I'll go find someone else to go with you two, okay? But we need to discuss all this about Albert later, okay?" says Tommy and starts to walk out of the clinic.

"Okay," Joel agrees. "I'll see you in one hour in the stables." And with that, Joel leaves the clinic

too and goes to find Dylan to tell him that they're going to go out of town and search for Harold.

* * *

In the greenhouse Ellie was working with some plants, and looking like she was lost in thoughts…

I remember being in the bathroom of the house looking at myself in the mirror. I had just taken my clothes off to take a bath. I'm sixteen now... I've grown a little, not much taller but my body is more...like a woman now? My skin's still pale as a glass of milk, not much change on that, and I still have the bite mark in my arm, but at least my breasts are bigger now. Well, not the same as Maria or Claudia, but I think they are decent, and I have more curves, too. Well, that is what I want him to notice, I guess - I want him to see me more like I'm an adult, not as a kid anymore.

He wasn't in the house then, but I wished he was... I wanted him to see me naked, to touch me and…..kiss me! Why did I feel that way, it's like… I dunno...I wanted him to see me like something more than a daughter. Does he still see me like that? After all this time, after all we did together, I just wanted him to…. Love me! But love me like a man loves a woman.

 _Love!_ Is that what I was feeling? I had to talk to someone about these new feelings I'd been having... yeah, maybe Maria. But what would I tell her - I couldn't tell her that I started to have some feelings for Joel! I don't know what she would think. Probably she and Tommy would just kill Joel because of that. Or maybe I could say that these feelings are for someone without saying it's Joel...Yeah, maybe I could do that. _Okay, I better get to the shower, he's going to come back soon._

I enter the bathtub and start to take a shower, _yes! hot water_ \- we didn't have this out there, this

is like heaven.

Then I start to clean myself and start to imagine that I hear his voice!

"You look beautiful!"

It's him! He is with me in the shower! I turn around to see him.

"You have grown up," he says.

"Do you like what you see?" I ask him without taking my eyes away from his face.

"Yes!" he says.

"Joel, I want to…" I look down; I can't even say what I want. _He is right here, Ellie! You have the courage, just say it!_ I look into his eyes again. "Joel! I want you to make lo…Fuck!" She is been taken out of her thoughts by some one yelling her name.

" _Ellie! Ellie! Are you in there? Hello?"_

"Jenna?"

"Yes it's me - are you okay?"

 _Fuck! Now I daydream too?_ "Yes, I'm fine, what`s up?" I say.

"Haha, you tell me? It's like you're just sitting there and your mind is elsewhere."

"Oh. it's nothing, I was just thinking of something," I tell her.

"Oh it must be something good because you're acting funny."

"Oh shut up!" I snap at her.

"Okay, girls, I sent Brad to buy something I need, it's afternoon so I think you two can go get your lunch break and come back in one hour, okay!" says Claudia.

"Okay, Mom! C'mon, Ellie, let's get some lunch in the public cafeteria," says Jenna, putting her arm around my shoulder. As soon as we get out of the greenhouse, Jenna asks me, "Okay, now that my mom's out of earshot, start talking?"

"About what?" I say.

"Come on, Ellie, I know that you're hiding something. You've been acting funny for the last two weeks."

"No! I'm not," I say.

"Yes! You are, and you know I always find out what you are hiding."

"It's nothing, I swear!" I say.

"Oh, come on, it's a boy, right?" Jenna insists.

I start to blush, when someone interrupts us.

"Hey Jenna, Ellie! Glad to see you, did you hear what happened at the front gate?"

"Hear what?" we say at the same time.

It was Toby, Victor`s son, the guy in charge of the horses... he's like fifteen, I guess. "There was some commotion at the front gate, like a half hour ago, some infected attacked!" Toby says.

I open my eyes wide like something hit me. _Joel!_ I almost yell. I look at Jenna. "Oh no, fuck! Joel is working on the wall close to the gate - sorry, I have to go, see you later," I say as I start to run.

* * *

Joel is in his house preparing things for the search mission. "Dylan, don't forget the extra ammunition, okay?" Joel says.

"Joel, I know that Harold is some kind of friend of yours, but do you think it's right that we're doing this? Why don't you let Tommy send Albert and other men!"

"Because I don't trust that idiot, he's not going to find shit, and Harold is not just some kind of friend! He _is_ my friend, and I owe him at least that. Besides, he is one of the few people that I can talk and trust around here. I'm not going to sit here and do nothing."

"Joel, I know that Albert is an asshole, but that is his job."

"Look! If you don't want to go, it's okay, I can find someone else to go with me."

"I not saying that I don't want to go, but Albert is in charge of the patrol thing and the security of Jackson. I know that you don't like him, but he is going to think that you are passing over him and…" Dylan is saying when Joel interrupts him.

"That bastard don't know shit, I don't even know why Tommy gave him that kind of responsibility, and he always tries to piss me off, like it's a hobby of his."

"Well, if you hadn't punched him in the face in the first two weeks after you came here, maybe he would treat you better," Dylan points out.

"Yeah, that was like, what... a year ago? Maybe if his stupid son hadn't tried to take advantage of Ellie in the first place, I wouldn't've had to do that. Besides, I think he hates me because he knows I'm an ex-hunter."

"Well, Ellie broke his son's nose and threatened to cut his balls with a pocketknife if he tried to touch her again, and she was only fourteen then, or fifteen?" Dylan says.

"Yes, fifteen, and that stupid boy was eighteen, and after that he goes to tell his dad what happened and the two of them came to Tommy's house and demanded that me and Ellie be thrown out of Jackson," Joel tells him. "Of course Tommy and Maria had to intervene, and he didn't like the decision they made. So now he tries everything to make my life impossible, but he don't know shit about me or what I'm capable of doing if he or his son tries to do something to Ellie."

"Yeah, I've heard that story before. Okay! We're almost ready, so what are you going to say to Ellie before we go?" Dylan asks.

"Well, she is in the greenhouse working right now, so I can tell Tommy to inform her that we have to go out to search, and we're going to come back later, or... I'll leave her a note," Joel answers.

"Damn, Joel! You're asking for trouble - if you don't tell her in person she is going to be pissed off, you know that she doesn't like it much when you go out," Dylan says.

They hear the front door open as a teenager enters the house, yelling Joel's name.

"JOEL! JOEL!" Ellie calls him as soon she enters the house.

"Ellie?" Joel asks as he tries to step out of the kitchen to meet Ellie before she sees what they're doing. _Oops, too late._

"Joel! Oh God…" As soon as she sees Joel step out of the kitchen, she runs to him and puts her hand around his waist. "...are you okay? I heard that there was some trouble with some infected! And I thought that you were going to be…" Ellie stops talking when she sees Dylan sitting at the kitchen table with all the guns and supplies. "Dylan? What are you doing here and what is all this?" Ellie asks, looking at Dylan and then at Joel.

"Ellie, Harold's patrol was attacked by infected last night. Two of his men came back, but Harold is still out there. So Dylan and I are going to search for him," Joel explains the situation to Ellie.

"Joel! You said Infected are involved! Isn't that some kind of danger?" Ellie says, trying to be calm, "I know that Harold is the only friend you have here, but if I remember right, isn't it that Albert guy's job? So why do you have to go?"

"Hey! What do you mean by 'only friend,' Ellie?" says Dylan, offended.

Joel and Ellie don't even look at him.

"Ellie, I don't trust that bastard to do his job."

"And that's why you told Tommy to send you?" Ellie asks.

"No! Tommy isn't the one sending me out there, I volunteered."

"YOU WHAT!" Ellie shouts. "You volunteered? -and then you were going to go out there without telling me too?"

"I was going to leave you a.. "Joel starts to say.

Ellie finishes for him. "...a note?" Really?"

"Ellie!"

"No, Joel, don't 'Ellie' me - if you're going out there then I'm going with you!" Ellie says with a firm voice.

"No!" Joel replies quickly.

"What the fuck! Joel, I'm going."

"Listen here, Ellie, Joel is right... it's going to be dangerous out there and it's better if you stay here! And-" Dylan was saying.

"Listen, Dude!" Ellie interrupts him. "I don't care if you're like hanging out with him now or whatever, but this doesn't concern you so shut the hell up!"

"Okay, Ellie, that is enough," Joel snaps at her. "You are not going and that is final!"

"What? You can't order me what to do, YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER!" Ellie screams at him... but then she falls silent.

No one speaks for a few moments, until Joel looks to the kitchen and says, "Okay, Dylan, get the stuff and go to the stables, tell Tommy that I'll be there soon."

"Joel-" Dylan tries to say something.

"NOW!" Joel yells, looking at Dylan.

Dylan gets the weapons and the bag with the supplies, and gets out of the house.

"Now, young lady, what is wrong with you? I know that I'm not your father, but you don't need to talk like that, and-" Joel starts, but Ellie interrupts him.

"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with _you!_ Since my birthday you've been ignoring me... you spend more time with your supposed friends, taking more hours on the wall. You come home late at night or go out early in the morning, now we spend almost no time together anymore and you are leaving me alone all night. Do you know how that makes me feel?"

"Ellie, I don't know what you're talking about - we do spend time together, and I'm just trying to protect you and make sure that you are okay and-" Joel tries to continue, but Ellie interrupts him again.

"No! Joel, the way I see it… it's like you are tired of me and trying to get rid of me." Ellie tries to stay calm but tears start to form in her eyes.

"Ellie!" Joel says, also trying to be calm. "That is not true - you are the most important person in my life. I'm never going to be tired of you."

"If that is true then why do I feel all alone now? We are supposed to be a team … you promised that we would always be together, that you're going to take care of me. So that is why you wanted to bring me here... to abandon me?"

"Ellie, that is not true, why would I do that?! You are the reason that I'm still alive. I don't want to be away from you. The reason I brought you here is because I want to protect you… so that somehow you can have a normal life. So you can have the happiness you deserve."

"Joel, you don't need to protect me all the time, I can take care of myself, and I was happy before you put me alone in that room. Now I just feel all alone and I'm having nigh...and you know that I never like to feel that way."

"Ellie! I'm sorry that you feel that way, that was not my intention. I love you more than anything and it's my job to make sure that you are safe. That is why you can't come with me - it's going to be dangerous out there."

"Well, that is why you need to take me, Joel - we spent almost a year out there and we survived together and…"

"No! Sorry, Ellie, but you can't come, it's too dangerous," Joel tells her.

"Okay, so you prefer to go with that guy and get killed?" says Ellie.

"No, nobody is going to get killed, Ellie, I'm going to come back, I promise. Now I have to go, they are waiting for me and Harold might not have much time out there. We can continue this conversation when I come back, okay?"

"No, Joel! We are not going to have any conversation later because you're not going to come back - you're going to get killed out there, and you're going to leave me all alone," Ellie says with tears in her eyes.

"Ellie, don't talk that way, I'm not going to leave you alone, nothing is going to happen to me, I'm going to come back and then we can fix whatever this is, okay?"

"You know what? Fuck you, Joel! I'm a big girl now and if you don't trust me, I'm not going to wait here until someone comes and tells me that you're not coming back or that you're dead. So go and save your friend who I can see is more important than me," Ellie says to Joel, then starts to run to the door and quickly gets out of the house.

"Ellie! Ellie!" Joel calls to her as soon she gets out of the house. He tries to go after her, but she's already out of sight. _Damn! Ellie, this is not supposed to be like this. I'll fix this when I return! I promise!_

After that, he grabs his guns and bag nearby and goes to the stables. When he arrives, Tommy is there with Dylan.

"Damn, Joel! Are you okay? How'd it go with Ellie?" asks Dylan.

"Not good... She wanted to go with me and when I said no, she got pissed and took off out of the house. I don't think she's going to talk to me any time soon."

"Don't worry, brother, this is not the first time. I'll tell Maria to talk to her - everything is going to be okay when you come back," says Tommy.

"I don't know, Tommy, this time she was really angry," says Joel.

"We'll talk about that later, okay? Okay, now it's getting late... this is Bob, he is going to go with you two, to the search out there…he is our best tracker," says Tommy. "Bob, this is my brother, Joel."

Bob extends his hand to Joel. "Nice to meet you," says Bob, shaking Joel's hand.

"And this is Dylan."

"Nice to meet you too," he says to Dylan, and shakes his hand, too.

The three of them mount their horses.

"Okay," says Tommy, "this is the map with the last location of Harold, so be careful out there and good luck. Here, have these two radios, they're a short range one but you can stay in contact if something happens, okay? And come back soon. I'll keep the guards of the wall and gate on alert just in case, okay!"

"Okay, don't worry, brother, I'm going to bring him back, just take care of Ellie until I come back, okay?"

"Okay, big brother, you can count on that." As Tommy finishes, the three of them go to the gate and inform them that they're going out to find Harold. The men of the gate acknowledge them and open the gate. As soon as the three of them get through the gate, the men in charge close the door and wish them good luck.


	5. Chapter 5 : The Search

**A/N:** Hi this story has been progressing since it started, is suppose to be like 8 or 10 chapters when I start to write, but now is going to take as 18 or 19 chapters maybe more to finished. I want to thanks to the people that have Favorites and Followers this story and hope that you continue reading. Also want to thanks to all people that Views and Visitors the story, thanks for the interest in the story.

* * *

 **Chapter 5 : The Search**

Two hours have passed since they left Jackson. The three of them are riding through a passage in the forest, waiting to arrive at the point on the map that Tommy gave them that indicates the last position of Harold. Bob is a little bit ahead, looking at his surroundings, and after a while, he gets down off his horse and checks the ground for clues.

During the two hours of travel in the forest, Joel doesn't say much; for the most part, he's always looking to the front, like his mind is elsewhere, but sometimes he looks back towards Jackson.

"Joel! Are you okay? You look very distracted," says Dylan with a worried expression.

"Yes, I'm okay… it's just..."

"You're worried about Ellie!" says Dylan, trying to make Joel more comfortable. "Joel! She is going to be okay, you can talk to he-"

"I don't know, kid, you didn't see her face... she was so upset. I haven't seen her like that in a long time."

"Look, I know that she's a little upset, but you can talk with her when we come back. I know that you can fix whatever is going on between you two. She's going to understand why you're doing this."

"Kid, you don't understand, she went away crying, I… should have stayed... tried to find her and explain to her why I have to do this.. But how I can do that, when _I_ don't even understand why I'm doing this!"

"Joel, she'll understand if you talk to her. Don't punish yourself too much; that girl loves you. As far back as I can remember, she's never left your side for very long. I know you can fix this. But right now, you need to focus on this mission. We don't know what's waiting for us out there, and we need to concentrate on that if we want to find Harold and get back from this alive."

"Yeah! Let's find Harold and get back asap," Joel says with a more positive expression on his face.

"Hey, where's Bob?" Dylan says, looking towards where Bob was before he started to talk with Joel.

"He's gone! He must've picked up some clue or something!" Joel says, looking to Dylan.

"Well, come on, we need to find him!" says Dylan as he and Joel press their horses forward.

A few minutes later, they slow down.

"We must be close to the river now; he must be nearby. Can you see him?" Joel asks.

"No! ...How'd he just disappear so fast?" Dylan says, now looking at the little river in front of them. "Joel!" he says, looking at Joel. "Do you trust this guy? I've been in Jackson for four years and I've never seen him before."

"Well, I think I've seen him one or two times. He's very quiet. I think he lives on the end street, where all the abandoned houses are… I think he likes to be alone, so I never talk to him. He's an old Indian, like seventy or something like that, and wants to stick to old tradition, I guess. I know for sure that they are the best trackers in the world, even before all this shit happened. I saw him once in the store a few months ago... he don't talk much to people."

"Wow! He is just like you - are you sure he's not your brother, too?" Dylan teases Joel.

"Ha! Very funny. Tommy seems to trust him, so I think we're good… okay, there's the river, so the houses that Harold was checking must be on the other side - we have to cross."

"What about the horses? And I don't see Bob's horse, either!"

"Well, we need to check," Joel says as he dismounts the horse. Dylan does so, too.

The two of them walk slyly by the river and get behind a few bushes.

"Okay, the river… it don't look very deep, and I can see the houses on the other side," says Joel.

"Can you see Bob or his horse?" Dylan says, looking at the houses across the river.

"No! But we need to be moving, so let's go," says Joel and starts to cross the little river. He looks at the water and tries not to get too wet or stumble over the rocks in the river. They've almost crossed the river when Dylan points to something on the ground.

"Is that-" he starts to say.

"Yes! Infected - don't get too close to them," Joel warns.

Dylan and Joel start to get out of the water, and start to walk close to the houses. The houses are dilapidated, not much paint can be seen, the wooden walls and windows are broken, and most of the houses are covered with plants. Like nature is reclaiming the old world.

"Do you think that these infected bodies are the ones that attacked Harold's patrol?" Dylan asks.

"Probably!" answers Joel, "but keep your voice low, it's possible there could be more."

They pass the bodies, and when they get close to one of the houses, Joel stops as he hears something coming from the side of the house:

 _Klic...klic...klic…_

"Shit! Don't move," Joel says to Dylan.

"What? What did you hear?" says Dylan, looking at Joel with a worried expression.

"It's a Clicker."

"What? Are you sure?" Dylan asks Joel as he takes out his gun.

Joel quickly grabs Dylan's hand and stops him. "No! Just use your knife - if you use your gun it can attract more infected if there's more around here."

"Okay, but you think we can kill that thing with a knife?"

"It's difficult, but we can do it. They can't see, but they have a very good hearing system, so we have to approach silently, okay?"

"Sure, Joel, you're the expert - I've never seen a Clicker before."

The Clicker stops in front of one of the houses. Joel takes out his knife and indicates for Dylan to move to one side. "Okay, Dylan, you're going to make a distraction, and I'm going to attack fro- " Joel stops when he sees Bob on the roof of the house where the Clicker stopped.

"What the hell!" Dylan says when he sees Bob jump from the roof, land on the Clicker, and insert his big knife in the Clicker's neck. The Clicker starts to scream as blood spills out of his neck. Bob continues slicing the Clicker's neck until the creature goes down and stops moving.

"Wow, that was awesome! "Man, do you think" there's more?" asks Dylan as soon as he gets close to Bob.

"No, that was the last one," answers Bob.

"The last one?" asks Dylan in a surprised tone.

"Yes! There were three of them."

"And you killed all of them? Wow, that was cool," says Dylan with a smile on his face.

"Okay, if there's no more infected, we need to continue," says Joel with a desperate tone. "Bob, did you find any clues to where Harold went?"

"Yes, his horse went south of the river; apparently he was leading the infected away from Jackson to give the rest of the men time to get away, too. But that was last night," Bob explains. "Did you find the body of that guy… Pete?" Joel asks, looking at Bob.

"Yes, his body is inside one of the houses, he was bitten several times. I think that he was the one to kill the rest of the infected that didn't go after that Harold guy… but in the end, he shot himself in the head."

"Well, that was very… brave, I think," Dylan says.

"Yes," he says to Dylan and then he turns his head to look at Joel. "Do you see anything odd in the picture here?"

Joel takes a look around to try to see what happened here. He studies the body of the infected, then moves to the Clicker and looks down. After a while, he gets up. "Okay," he says. "First, the Clicker don't got a bullet wound, so that means that they arrived here after the shooting was finished. So that makes it look like they came from elsewhere. Second, where are the other three horses?"

"Well, the guy that talked to Tommy said that they lost Pete and the horses," Dylan says to Joel.

"Yes, Joel, that's correct. But on the horses... I found one of them close to the river, over that way. That was where I found the first Clicker, but I haven't seen any trace of the other two," Bob explains.

"Well, this is odd, and we need to tell Tommy about this. Because all these areas were supposed to be cleaned up," says Joel.

"To tell the truth, this place is like two hours away from Jackson, and that guy said that Harold just found it, so isn't it possible that there can be infected here and no one's seen them?" Dylan says, looking to both of them.

"You have a lot to learn, kid," Bob says and starts to walk away.

"He's right - if that's the case, why didn't Harold see the infected the first time he saw this place, and that doesn't explain the Clicker, either," Joel says to Dylan.

"Okay, so what we do know: Harold is not here, and it's getting late. I don't think that we're going to find him and return home before it gets dark," says Dylan, looking all over the place.

"The kid is right, we have to move on if we're going to find him - where is your horse?" says Bob.

"Across the river, that way," Dylan says, pointing in the direction where they left the horses.

"Okay, you two, get your horses and head south - in that direction," Bob says, pointing at the way they need to go. "I'll get mine and go first to see if I can find a trace on where he went," Bob finishes and starts to walk toward where he left his horse.

* _**Back in Jackson after Ellie and Joel have their little fight ***_

I step out of the house, close the door and run. I can hear him calling my name, but I don't look back; he's already seen me starting to cry. I hate that. I don't like him to see me like that; I don't want to be treated like a little kid. I have to get out of here. I need to be alone to think. I don't know what to do now, tears are still coming out of my eyes… _what a stupid girl I am. I want him to treat me like an adult, but I still act like a kid sometimes, yelling at him like that and running away, how stupid._

I stop for a moment on the end of the street, to take a break. Some people there start to look at me like I'm a weird girl… but maybe I _am_ weird...

Now where to go to be alone? I don't want to see anybody right now. I start running again down to another street. I can see some people on the sidewalk going about their business, others in front of their houses. I can see their faces but I don't recognize anybody, which is kind of funny. Joel and I have been living here for more than a year, and we don't know most people here.

I can`t go to the stables; Joel is going to be there by now. Nor the greenhouse - Jenna and her mother are still there, too. Maybe I can talk to Jenna! She is my best friend - well, the only real friend I have here, anyway...

 _No!_ At least, not now, I need to be alone… to find a place where nobody will find me, to think about all this. _What happened to us, Joel?_ I feel like my head is going to explode, I want to scream so loud that everyone can hear me. _Come on, Ellie, think - you can do that, right!_... _Oh, let me see…._ the barn - yes, it's going to be empty by now, the people that work in there are only there in the morning, and now it's afternoon, so yes, I can go there.

I start to walk again in the direction of the farm, where the barn is. It takes me like twenty minutes to get there, but I was right: no one was there. I get to the front of the big wooden door and go in, then I close the door. I quickly get to the small stairs in the corner and start to climb up, _yeah, nobody's going to find me here_.

When I get to the second floor, I find a spot and sit. I bring my knees to my chest and hold them with my hands, then put my head down. Tears still run down my face. _What am I going to do now?_ _What if Joel doesn't want me anymore?_ We've always been together since he picked me up in Boston Qz. We survived together out there, just the two of us, but now the only thing he does is ignore me… he doesn't talk to me much anymore. Now he's been taking all these night shifts, and he gave me that stupid room!

Yeah, the stupid bedroom, he said that was going to be good for me, that I need some privacy, and now that I think about it, it all started with my sixteenth birthday! _Is that what this is? That I'm getting older and he doesn't want me anymore?_ _Fuck! That can't be true... is it?_ In the middle of our trip, I thought that he looked at me as a replacement for his dead daughter, Sarah. But when we got here, I think that all of that changed, or at least, that's what I thought… and he never called me that.

I know that he loves me in some way and cares about me, but in what way, I'm not sure! Now he is going out there, with that guy.. what's his name again? Oh, Dylan, right… yeah, he said that he's his partner on the wall, but now that I think about it, he always talks about him since they began to work together. He even invited him a few times to dinner at home.

The first time he brought that guy for dinner, I told him, ' _What the fuck, Joel!_ _We don't spend much time together now and you invited people in!'_ He told me that Dylan lives alone since his dad died last year. I try to understand that he's only trying to help the guy, and that is rare for Joel.

Now he says there's going to be danger, that is why he doesn't want me to go with him. I know that he's not going alone, but really? He's going out with _that_ guy!? I can kill more infected with my eyes closed than that dude! I'm just thinking, what if something happens out there, what if he never comes back! I know that old man is almost the only friend that he has here, or two, if I count this Dylan guy. I know that old man is in trouble, and he's just trying to help him, I get that, but why can't he take me with him? I can be more help than this guy!

 _I'm being selfish!_ I know he needs to help his friend, but what if he dies... I don't even want to think of that. He can't die, he promised that he'd always be there for me and ...I need him! I've gotten so close to him now, that I need to hear his voice, feel his hands around me, or even …kiss me. _What!_

Now is not the time for me to start thinking of that… or those dreams I've been having lately. I know that I care so much for him, but _what does that mean? Is this some other kind of love I feel for him? Not as a daughter loves her father, but like something else maybe! I just want to be close to him, sleep in his bed again... is that normal?_ I know that he's older than me. _But who cares?_

 _But what if he doesn't love me like that?_ Yes, I'm only sixteen, and he's like...um... fifty? _Yeah, fifty - is that too old?_ I know he's going to say that he's too old for me and all that bullshit. But I don't care about that; he's a handsome man, he is strong and he has those two big hands. I think of all those dreams like he's touching me and kissing me... _is that love? Or just a sex thing?_

I think that I need to talk with someone about that. Maybe Maria... _wow, how much time has passed?_ I ask myself. It seems like an eternity. I came here because I was pissed at Joel for not taking me with him, and now I'm thinking about how much I like him and need him. The tears stop for the moment, but the fear is starting to set in. _Shit!_

* * *

It's been an hour since Joel and the others set out to find Harold. Joel asked Tommy to find Ellie and take care of her until he returns. He starts to look for Ellie as soon as Joel and company get out of the gate. He checks some streets and places and when he doesn't find her, he goes to their house, to see if she went back there.

Tommy enters the house and quickly goes up to the second floor to see if Ellie is in her room, but as soon as he enters, he sees that she's not there. He then starts to check the other rooms in the house but sees that she did not come back here. He was about to exit the house when he hears a static sound.

 _The radio_! Another static sound.

"Hello? Tommy here, who's this?" Tommy answers the radio static.

" _It's me, Honey,"_ says Maria on the radio.

"Is everything okay, babe?" says Tommy.

" _Is your brother's team gone already?"_ she asks.

"Yes! Joel left an hour ago, why?" he continues talking with Maria on the radio.

" _It's just that we have a situation in Paul's Bar,"_ she says.

"Damn! Already? It ain't even dark yet… Shit, okay, I'm on my way ...Oh, Maria, I need a favor. I see that Ellie and Joel had an argument again and I think that she's pissed off and ran away. Joel asked me to find her, but… can you look for her?" Tommy asks.

" _Okay, no problem, any idea where she went?"_ says Maria.

"No! I looked for her in some places and then in their house, and she is not there."

" _Okay, she's supposed to work in the greenhouse today, so I'll just go there and ask Jenna or her mother if they've seen her."_

"Okay, thanks," says Tommy.

" _Just go to the Bar and check on that, okay? I'll see you later, hon!"_ says Maria before turning off the radio.

With that, Maria starts to walk to the greenhouse.


	6. Chapter 6 : Found and Talks

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Found and Talks**

Half an hour has passed when Maria arrives at the greenhouse. She opens the glass door and starts to look around to check if she can see Ellie, or at least Jenna or her mother. Then she sees Claudia step out from a room closest to the entrance.

"Hey Maria! What brings you here? I heard there was some kind of trouble with some infected in the main gate, and that there are some men injured," says Claudia when she gets close to Maria.

"Yes! We had some trouble with one of the patrols last night, but Tommy and Joel are taking care of that at this moment," says Maria.

"Oh… Then that must be why Jenna came back with Brad ten minutes after I sent the three of them out for lunch. She told me that a kid came to them and told them that something was happening at the front gate with some infected, and that Ellie said something about Mr. Miller and went running there," Claudia explains to Maria.

"Okay, so Ellie hasn't come back here?" Maria asks, starting to worry.

"No! She didn't come back after that," answers Claudia. "Is something wrong? With Ellie or Mr. Miller, I mean!"

"No… well, I don't know all the details but it seems that one of the guys in Harold`s patrol is dead and Harold is missing out there. So Joel... he kind of volunteered for the search for Harold, he was in charge of the patrol yesterday. Then he and Ellie had some kind of a discussion after that and Ellie ran off, and Tommy asked me to look for her."

"Oh, okay… I see! So she just ran away to be alone - Jenna tells me that Ellie does that sometimes," Claudia says.

"So... by any chance, do you or Jenna know where she might have gone? -or if she mentioned any place she likes to go when she wants to be alone?" asks Maria.

"Well… I can't help you with that, Ellie is not very open with me, even though she likes to ask so many questions... she likes it when I tell her some stories from the past. But I'm sure that she trusts Jenna: they're best friends. So If anyone can find her quickly, it's Jenna."

"Okay, then can I talk to her?" asks Maria. "It's starting to get dark and I don't want to Ellie spend the night alone in the condition she is right now, so I need to find her as soon as possible."

"She's not here; I sent her back home like fifteen minutes ago. Okay... wait, my job here is finished for today, so let me close the place and we can go to my house and talk to her. I'm sure she can help us find Ellie."

"Okay, thanks, Claudia," says Maria, heading to the front door.

"No problem, I know how it is to deal with a teen girl... but I know that Ellie's going to be okay. She's a strong girl," says Claudia as she finishes closing the door.

 ***Elsewhere in Jackson***

"Come on, Brad, we need to find Ellie. If all this is because of the infected incident, I'm not going to let her be alone," says Jenna, dragging Brad by his arm.

"Are you sure of this, Jenna? You heard what that man said, when he passed close to Ellie`s house. If Ellie and her dad had some kind of fight, I'm sure that Ellie wants to be alone. Anyway, why am I doing this - she's your best friend, not mine?" says Brad, trying to get out of the arm grip.

"Stop complaining, Dude, she's your friend, too, and Mr. Miller is not her dad," Jenna answers him.

"Well… If he's not her father, why are they always together? And she's not really my friend - I don't think she even likes me. She only talks to me because we work together and, you know, because of... you. I think that she's so weird sometimes, and if she fights with that old man so much, why is she still living with him?"

Jenna stops right there in front of him and looks at him like she wants to punch him right in the face. "Look, don't act like an ass, she likes you okay - we are the only real friends she has here, even if you don't see it that way. And if you think she's weird, try to have the life she lived for sixteen years. We are lucky that we've lived here safe all our lives. She didn't have that privilege. If you knew what she had to do to survive out there, you wouldn't be talking like that about her."

"Sorry… I don't mean to sound like that - I didn't know that she liked me as a friend, and I do think that she's cool some of the time," Brad says apologetically.

"It's okay... I just don't like to see people talk about her like that. Especially when they don't know her the way I do. Now if she's pissed, she's going to need someone to talk to, and if she wasn't in her house, the only place that she can go to be alone right now is the barn."

"And how do you know that she's going to be there?" asks Brad with an incredulous look.

"Because that's where I go when I want to be alone sometimes, and no one works there at this hour," Jenna explains.

"Okay... So what do you think they fought about this time? It had to be something big for Ellie to run away and hide," says Brad.

"I don't know, but if she's in some kind of trouble, we need to find her quick, okay?"

The two of them walk down the street, and twenty minutes later they arrive at the barn. "Okay, Brad, wait here until I check to see if she's inside. If you see someone coming this way, let me know, okay?"

"Okay," says Brad.

So Jenna steps in front of the door and proceeds to open it, then enters the barn and closes the door. She looks around to see if she can see Ellie. At first, she doesn't see anything; it was a little dark inside with just a few rays of light entering the place through the little holes in the walls. She starts to whisper Ellie's name as she tries to find out if she's there.

"Ellie… Ellie…" she calls her, "are you in here? It's me, Jenna." Then she hears some noise coming from the second floor. She looks at the stairs that lead up to the second floor, and she hears it again... it sounds like someone is crying. _Ellie!_ she thinks. Then she starts to climb up the stairs. When Jenna reaches the second floor, she sees Ellie in a corner, all wrapped up with her face down to her knees. She looks like she's been crying for a long time.

Jenna starts to walk towards her and get close. "Ellie, it's me, are you okay?" says Jenna as she gets down on her knees and puts a hand over Ellie's shoulder.

Ellie lifts her head and looks at her, with some dried tears on her face. "I'm okay, Jenna... I just want to be alone right now."

"Ellie, it's okay, you can talk to me - I'm here to help you. If… Joel did something to you... did he hit you?" asks Jenna with a concerned look.

"WHAT!" Ellie yells. "Are you crazy? He would never do that."

"Well, we heard that you and him had some kind of a fight, and I thought that-"

"Look, he's not like that, it was just a discussion, okay...and who is 'we'?"

"Me and Brad. We've been looking for you since we saw you run out this afternoon. Look, we just-" she is interrupted when she hears some voices coming from down below.

"Step aside right now, Brad, if Jenna and Ellie are in there?" Maria asks.

"I don't know… WHO ARE YOU LOOKING FOR AGAIN?" says Brad loudly, trying to get Jenna to hear him while he tries to stop Maria and Claudia from getting into the barn.

"Brad! ...if you don't step aside this moment, I swear to God I'm going to send you to collect the horse shit for the manure we use in the greenhouse," says Claudia with a firm voice.

"But you already make me do that!" answers Brad, sarcastic.

"This is not a game - step aside, kid," says Maria, pushing him out of the way and starting to enter the barn. Then she calls out, "Ellie! ...Ellie, are you in here?"

"Shit! It's Maria and Claudia, they're here. Damn… I told Brad to let me know if someone came here looking, not wait until they get here to try to let me know," says Jenna.

"Ellie… I know that you're in here, please come down. I just want to talk you and take you home, okay?" Maria says when she starts to walk to the stairs. When she gets to the second floor, Maria sees Jenna and Ellie. She looks at Jenna and says, "Jenna, your mother's looking for you down there. You should go now."

Jenna looks at Ellie with a concerned expression. "Are you going to be okay?" she asks.

Ellie nods her head in acceptance.

"Okay, so I'll see you tomorrow," she tells Ellie, then gets up and starts to walk to the stairs. When she passes Maria, she looks at her. "She's going to be okay?"

"Yes! You don't need to worry, she's going to be fine, now go home with your mother. It's getting late," says Maria.

Ellie remains in her position without moving. Maria waits until Claudia and the two kids get out of the barn and then she gets close to Ellie. She kneels down in front of Ellie and puts her hand on her shoulder. But Ellie doesn't say anything.

"Ellie, it's getting dark and I bet that you haven't eaten anything all day, no need to be alone here. If you need to talk, I'm here for you, okay? I know that you're a little obsessive when it comes to Joel, but he's going to be okay. He isn't alone out there, you kn-"

"Has Joel come back yet?" Ellie asks in a worried tone, interrupting Maria.

"No, Ellie, he hasn't returned yet, trying to find a person in that forest is going to take some time. But he's not alone there, you know that. You don't need to worry, he's going to be okay, Ellie, he is strong and a survivor - he knows what he's doing, and you know that he always comes back."

"That is why I'm so scared. I'm supposed to be his partner, we are a team. I'm the one he should have chosen to go with him. We survived out there for almost a year, because we protected each other's backs," Ellie looks at Maria with a sad expression.

"He is only trying to protect you, that is why he doesn't want you to go with him. He told Tommy to look after you until he comes back," says Maria, trying to make Ellie feel better. "When Tommy didn't find you he got worried about you, so he asked me to find you when he needed to take care of something, an-"

"No! Maria, if Tommy was worried about me, he wouldn't be giving Joel all the night shifts on the wall, and making Joel do all those jobs during the day too for the past month. I know that he doesn't like it much, that me and Joel are here. I hear him sometimes when he talks to Joel, and it always ends in an argument or a fight over something about me. Now because of that, Joel and I can't spend much time together anymore. I know a lot of the people here don't like us, but I thought that you and Tommy were different - you're supposed to be Joel's family, at least," Ellie challenges Maria now.

"Ellie, is this what you think? That we don't want you and Joel here?" says Maria, looking at Ellie with worry in her eyes.

 _Well, it's part of it,_ Ellie thinks.

"Look! Ellie, Tommy and I don't try to separate you two or want to make you two leave Jackson! We are your family now, as much as we are for Joel, I don't know the reason why Joel asked Tommy for all the night shifts that he can take. But I'm sure that-"

"So it's Joel, then? He's the one that doesn't want me anymore! So now he tries to leave me with Tommy again? That's why he's been acting so strange recently," says Ellie with tears forming in her eyes.

Maria grabs Ellie's chin and makes her look at her. "Look, Ellie, whatever reason Joel had to do that, I'm sure that it has nothing to do with you. He loves you very much and I know that he's not going to do anything to hurt you. You want to know how I know that?"

Ellie cocks her head in confusion.

Maria smiles at Ellie. "Because you are the only person that made Joel change so much. Tommy told me that Joel was devastated when he lost his daughter. That he changed so much that he became a cold-blooded bastard. Excuse my vocabulary, Ellie, but you changed all that, and now he has a new life with you. He became a different person and changed all that he was for you… well, not all of it," says Maria with a little smile on her face.

"Okay… so why is he ignoring me and acting like he doesn't want to be with me anymore?" Ellie asks.

"I can't answer that, sweetheart; that, you need to ask him. But I'm sure that it's nothing bad, maybe it's because you are growing up and he doesn't know how to deal with that. You know that he was very young when he had his daughter?"

"Yes, he mentioned that to me, when we arrived at the university last year after Tommy sent us there," explains Ellie.

"Well, maybe it's because he doesn't have any experience with teenagers. But I'm sure that he's never going to leave you alone, and I know for sure that he would do anything for you, Ellie."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes, Ellie, I do. Now that we talked about all this, do you feel better?"

"I guess, but I'm still pissed that he went out there and didn't take me with him," says Ellie, wiping her eyes with her hand.

"Okay, let's go, then, it's getting dark and you need to eat something. And Tommy should be worried as hell if I don't come back with you to the house - he'll be afraid that Joel's going to kill him if something happens to you."

"Okay," says Ellie as she starts to get up with Maria's help. "Going to eat sounds good right now, because I _am_ very hungry."

And with that, both girls leave the barn, and walk all the way to Maria & Tommy's house.

 ***Some time later in the forest***

"I can't believe that we lost this guy again," says Dylan.

"It's okay, kid, he said that he's going right ahead to check the area and if we lose him, that we just need to follow the path until we find him again," answers Joel.

"Yeah, but that was like two hours ago, and it's going to be dark soon," says Dylan.

"I don't think that we've mu- wait, stop!" Joel holds the horse when he looks at something a short distance in front of them. Joel signals for Dylan to dismount the horse and follow him quietly. They walk in a crouch and enter a small clearing in the forest.

"Is that Bob's horse?" Dylan asks Joel.

"Yes it is, he must be close by. Okay, take the horses and put them with Bob's horse and stay here in case something happens. I will go and see if I can find out where he went," Joel tells Dylan and starts to walk off.

"Okay! But be careful, we don't know what might be out there," Dylan says.

Joel stops and looks at Dylan for a moment. _Ha! Like I haven't been doing this for the past 22 years,_ _kid._ Then Joel looks away and starts to walk again. He checks their surroundings to see if he can hear something out of the ordinary. When he gets to the border of the clearing, he sees that there is a small path that leads to the top of a hill. Then he takes out his gun and starts walking the path. When he gets close to the top, he sees that Bob is there, hiding in some bushes, looking down with the binoculars. So he lowers his gun and approaches him, when he hears Bob speak.

"Glad you made it, Mr. Miller," says Bob without looking back.

Joel stops and looks down, shaking his head. He looks up again and says, "Please, you can call me Joel, we don't have to be so formal out here. Did you find something?"

Then Bob lowers the binoculars. "Down there," Bob says and points with his finger to the direction he was looking before, handing the binoculars to Joel.

Then Joel gets down next to Bob and takes the binoculars. He looks in the direction Bob was pointing. "Okay! I see. It looks like it was an old factory... there's at least three buildings," he says, continuing to check out the place. "Do you think that Harold's in one of them?" Joel asks, continuing to look down.

"Well, it's the only place that I can find around here, and if a bunch of infected were chasing me, down there is the best place to hide," says Bob to Joel. "Anyway, there's some infected circulating the place. So I think that if he managed to get in there before the infected got to him, there's a good possibility that he's still in there."

"Yeah! You're right - I can see some of the infected now, it looks like eight or ten of them in the parking lot," Joel says. "Do you see any Clickers?"

"No! I've been here for the past hour and I haven't seen any. But the infected that you can see now are in passive mode, and-" Bob is interrupted when he tries to explain to Joel.

"What is a passive mode?" Dylan asks when he approaches the two men.

Joel drops the binoculars and turns around quickly, drawing his gun on Dylan at the same time he speaks.

Dylan quickly gets his arms up in a 'surrender' position. "Don't shoot, it's me!" Dylan says with a white face.

"Damn! ...Dylan, can you not be more… fucking!... Quiet?" says Joel, giving Dylan a furious look. "I almost blew your head off, you dumbass," Joel says to Dylan when he starts to lower his gun.

"Look, I'm sorry, I just wanted to see if you were okay when you didn't come back for a while," says Dylan when he lowers his hands.

"Fuck! Dylan, did I not tell you stay with the horses!"

"Yes! You did, But like... I didn't see anyone here, and the horses are okay, I thought that I was going to be bored and that maybe you would need some help," says Dylan.

"It's okay, Joel, I checked this place when I got here and there's no infected around," says Bob.

"So... You found Harold?" Dylan asks.

"We think so, there's some buildings down there, and there's a possibility that Harold's in there," answers Bob.

"Okay! So he's down there with some infected, too," Dylan says, then asks again, "What is a passive mode?"

"It's when the infected detect something and can't see it. They stay close to the place and start to walk in circles waiting to hear or see any movement," explains Joel.

"Okay, so you think that Harold is down there then?"

"Yes, kid, did Bob not just say that already?" says Joel.

"Okay... so what's the plan to get him out of there?" Dylan asks.

* * *

A/N: Hi I don`t mention any description of the OC character in this story yet. but if any anyone like to know how they suppose to look like, I can give you a little description of them. Just send a Pm or ask in the comment section thanks.


	7. Chapter 7 : The Rescue

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

* * *

 **Chapter 7 : The Rescue**

"Okay! So what is the plan?" Dylan asks as soon as he sits down with Bob and Joel back where they left the horses.

They had come down the hill an hour ago. Now they are sitting on a fallen log that is close by, to try to think of what they're going to do with the infected that surround the place, and find out if Harold still there alive.

"Okay..." Joel starts to say. "There's at least ten infected that we can see, lucky for us they seem to be just Runners. But there are three buildings down there so we don't know if there are more of them, or more advanced infected. So we need to be careful on that. The Runners are fast but easy to kill so we won't have a problem with that, if the numbers are low."

"If we're going inside the buildings, there's a possibility that there'll be spores in there, so did any of you bring along a mask?" asks Bob to Joel and Dylan.

"No!" says Dylan. "I didn't think that we were going to go so far from Jackson, or that we'd be entering some old building that might have spores."

Joel remains seated, not saying anything.. _The gas masks! I didn't think of that… Fuck, what is wrong with me, I never thought I'd make a mistake like that._

"Okay then, so I hope that we don't find any spores in there. So the Runners will be easy, but Clickers are another thing. Even if I don't see any, it doesn't mean there can't be one or two in there," says Bob.

"Dude, you're worried about Clickers? From what I see, you just killed three without any problem," says Dylan.

"Yeah, but I just killed them one at time - if there's more than one there plus the other regular infected, that's going to be a little tricky."

"Okay so how are we going to do this? We just go down there and start shooting infected and enter the buildings to find Harold!" says Dylan.

"Not exactly. I'll go down there and infiltrate the building from one of the back windows, find Harold, and get out of there," says Joel.

"Are you crazy!... You're not going there alone," says Dylan.

"The kid is right, it's better if we go together," Bob suggests when he gets up from the log.

"Don't worry, I have a plan," Joel says. Then he too stands up from the log, goes to pick up a branch from the ground, and starts to draw something in the dirt. "Okay, this is the situation," he starts. "There's three buildings there... I think that Harold's in the big one, where the infected are walking by, so we're going to concentrate on that one."

"Okay so if you're going alone to the building, what can Bob and I do?" Dylan asks.

"Bob is going to be the sniper." Joel points at him with the stick and continues explaining the plan. "You're going to be hidden in this spot close to the building, here at this point. So you can be on high ground to make the shots. Are you a good shooter?" Joel asks Bob.

"Yeah!.. I'm a good shooter," Bob answers.

"Okay! That's great, then Dylan, you're going to be the distraction, and -"

"Wait... WHAT! If you don't know, I don't have much experience in fighting infected, so how do you expect me to do that?" Dylan complains.

"Because Bob is going to be the sniper and I'm going to be inside the building, so that leaves you to make the distraction. You don't need to do much, the only thing you have to do is make sure that the infected follow you close to the point where Bob is, so he can shoot the bastards," Joel explains to Dylan.

"So how are we going to do this?" Bob asks.

"I modify the rifle with a night vision scope, so we can shoot at night. Then we wait until nightfall and get to position. Bob, you know your position, and Dylan, there's a lot of old cars in the parking lot in front of the building, so you can use that as a cover. Then you're going to throw the molotov cocktail we brought to the infected, after that you can start shooting, and run - Bob is going to do the rest."

"The sound of the gun is going to attract more infected, not only the ones outside. If there are some inside too, they're going to come out... that is a good distraction," Bob says.

"Yes! I hope that there aren't many of them so we can do this fast and easy," says Joel.

"Okay, we all know what to do now, the only thing we need to do is wait. It's going to be dark in about an hour," says Bob.

The three of them start to make the preparations for the rescue mission. Joel gives the rifle to Bob with some extra ammunition. Dylan gets to the horses and takes his backpack, taking out the Molotov cocktail and two guns.

Joel goes to his backpack and takes out a 9mm gun with an extra magazine; he already has his magnum in a holster and his hunter knife in one of his boots. He also gets out three energy bars and some bottles of water that he brought from Jackson. Then he puts the gun in the back of his pants and starts to walk to where the others are. He gives them the energy bars and sits down to wait until it gets dark.

 _ ***Same time in Jackson***_

Maria and Ellie are walking through town en route to Tommy and Maria's house. Ellie is walking in silence, trying not to think of Joel, but of course that's almost impossible because that is the only thing she has in her mind. She's looking at the ground, still with a sad look, when Maria puts a hand on her shoulder.

"We're almost there. I'll prepare some food and as soon as we get to the house, you can go take a shower first and then we can sit and eat. Is that okay with you, Ellie? ...Ellie?" Maria starts calling her name when she doesn't answer.

Ellie is lost in thought when she hears Maria talking to her, then she looks at Maria. "What!"

"Ellie, are you okay? You seem a little lost."

"No!... I'm ...okay I guess. Do you think Tommy's at your house?" she asks. "I want to know if he has any news on Joel and the others."

"I don't think he will be, he was going to take care of some problems in the bar and after that he needs to go to the store to check the inventory that Mary and Jack were doing this morning. I was going to do that but since he asked me to look for you, he said he can do it. So he's not going to be back home until later tonight."

"So what about Joel? He's going to leave him out there all night?" Ellie asks, concerned.

"Ellie, I know that you're worried about Joel, but you know that it's going to take time to find Harold. So there's a possibility that they won't come back until tomorrow, and Tommy can check later on the radio if the people on the gates have any news on them."

"But what if something goes wrong... I just can't stop thinking about that," says Ellie.

"Ellie, it's okay to be worried about him - we all are! We always worry every time someone goes out there. You just had a tough day, okay, you need to take a bath and have some dinner... after that, we can talk if you want," says Maria.

"Okay," says Ellie, then proceeds to look at the ground again and keeps walking.

By the time they end the conversation, it's dark and they've arrived at the house. Then Maria proceeds to open the front door and usher Ellie inside the house. She turns the light on and indicates for Ellie to go to the bathroom and take a shower before dinner.

Ellie walks up to the stairs, when she hears Maria from the kitchen.

"Ellie! There's some clothes of yours in the spare room from the last time you stayed here, and you know where the towels are," says Maria.

"Okay! Thanks," says Ellie.

When Maria hears Ellie enter the bathroom and start the shower, she gets on the radio and calls Tommy. She pushes the button on the radio and tries to talk in a lower voice. "Hey, honey, are you there?"

 _Shrrrrr._ A sound of static comes from the radio.

" _I'm here, babe, did you find Ellie?"_ Tommy asks.

"Yes, she is with me in the house, we're going to have some dinner and talk… or at least try," says Maria on the radio.

" _Okay, that's good, at least she's in good hands now,"_ Tommy says back.

"How's the situation in Paul's bar going? Any problems?"

" _Nah... just a stupid fight between two drunk guys, nothing serious,"_ says Tommy. " _I let Albert take care of that and now I'm going to the store to check on the supplies, see you later."_

"Hey… Tommy, do you have any news on Joel's party?" Maria asks.

" _No, I haven't received any communication from the gate on that. But you know that the search is going to take time,"_ Tommy says.

"Yes, I know, it's just that Ellie is going to ask when she gets out of the shower," says Maria.

" _Yes, but I know Joel, and I'm sure that he's going to be okay. Talk to you when I come back home, okay?"_ says Tommy before turning off the radio.

"See you later, honey," Maria says, then puts the radio on the counter and goes to finish making dinner.

 ***Back in the forest***

Night has fallen, and Bob and Dylan are in position, waiting. They only had two radios so Joel gave one to Bob and the other to Dylan; that way, they can coordinate the plan. Joel sneaks behind the bushes close to the big building. The plan is simple: Dylan would distract the infected surrounding the building and direct them close to Bob so he can shoot them down, giving Joel time to enter through one of the windows.

" _Okay, kid, I'm in position, how many are there now?"_ Bob asks from the radio.

" _Hey, we're lucky that there's a full moon tonight, otherwise we can't see shit_... _I think there's like eight,"_ Dylan responds.

" _Okay! Joel has to be in position by now, prepare the Molotov and light them up, then run in front of them so they can follow you here,"_ explains Bob.

" _Yeah... I know the plan… but why do I have a bad feeling about this!"_ says Dylan when he starts to light up the bottle. Then he gets to the side of the old rusty car where he was hiding and throws the cocktail. The thing lands in front of the infected, and some of them catch fire. "YEAH! Take that, motherfuckers."

Then all the infected turn and look at him; they scream and start to run in his direction.

" _What the hell are you waiting for, kid - RUN!"_ Bob screams through the radio.

"Yeah… right... fuck," Dylan says and starts to run.

The infected start to run after him. There are only six of them now; the two that got close to the Molotov explosion are now burned, on the ground. Dylan runs and shoots his gun at the infected. He hits some of them, but doesn't kill anyone.

Bob is looking through the scope and seeing when the mass of infected start to get close to Dylan, who is using the old car as a barricade to avoid the infected. One of them starts getting close and Bob hears him yell, " _SHOOT! SHOOT!"_ The infected guy tries to get his shirt when _BAM!_ and the infected drops dead with a hole in the head.

" _Damn, Dude! You almost hit me,"_ Dylan says through the radio.

" _Just get behind the next car and shoot!"_ Bob answers on the radio, then starts to shoot: _BAM! BAM! BAM!_

Joel sees that the distractions work and starts to move close to the building. He tries to enter through one of the broken windows on the side of the building. He carefully goes inside; it's dark, without much light from the moon outside. There are some boxes close to the window so he decides to get low there and wait for his eyes to get used to the dark.

 _Bam!_ The last one gets a bullet in the eye and drops dead in front of Dylan. " _Hey kid! Are you okay? You look a little pale to me,"_ says Bob, looking at Dylan through the scope.

"Yeah... I`m good! Fuck, you really took your time on the last one, it almost bit me!" He looks up to where Bob is and flips him off.

Joel starts to look around. The building seems to have two floors; the first one looks like some kind of processing factory with old machines, all rusted and broken. Joel takes out the gun and turns on his flashlight. With careful stealth, he starts to move, trying to hide between some of the broken boxes.

" _Hey Bob, this was easier than I expected, so if we're finished here, I'll go to help-_ " Dylan is saying.

" _Don't move, kid, I think I hear something,_ " Bob says and starts looking through the scope of the rifle.

" _Oh shit!... Get out of there, kid, there are more coming from the other building. The sound must have alerted the other infected that we couldn't see inside the building,"_ says Bob to Dylan.

When Dylan looks to the entrance of the second building, he sees the group of infected coming out from there. " _Shit! There's too many - what now?"_ says Dylan, starting to panic.

" _Kid! Go to that old Budget truck to the left and get to the top, I'll cover you,"_ says Bob.

Dylan reloads the gun and starts running to the truck. Lucky for him, the truck is close and he starts to climb up the side as the infected start to get close to him. He is almost at the top when one of the infected grabs him by the foot. "Fuck! He got me!" he yells. _BAM!... BAM!_ Then he feels his foot loosen from the grip and he reaches the top of the truck.

 _BAM!...BAM!_

Joel is almost finished checking the first floor when he hears the shooting again. _Damn, that means that there's more infected coming out from the other buildings,_ Joel thinks.

 _Okay, time is running out, so I need to find the stairs to the second floor... if Harold is here, he has to be up there._ A few minutes later, he finds the stairs that lead to the second floor. The door is broken so he proceeds with caution.

Outside, Dylan and Bob keep shooting at the infected. Dylan is still on top of the old truck and is starting to run out of bullets. He goes to talk to Bob through the radio. " _Hey man, there's still too many of them and I'm almost out of bullets, what are we going to do now?"_

" _We need to think of another way out of this, because I'm out of bullets for the rifle too,"_ Bob answers.

 _Okay, no infected on the first floor, that's good news_ , Joel thinks. Then he proceeds to start up the stairs, but there's some broken furniture and garbage on the way up. _Looks like someone tried to block the access to the second floor._ He starts to move some of the things out of the way without making much noise. When he gets to the top of the stairs, he gets close to one side of the wall and checks - he sees that the corridor goes two ways. It seems like the second floor has a bunch of little offices. The corridor is pitch black, no windows here so none of the outside light comes in.

He tries carefully to look to both sides without illuminating the whole place... then he sees one infected on the right side of the corridor. He doesn't know if there are more, so he takes the gun and puts it in the back of his jeans, then proceeds to take out his knife. It's just one for now so it's better to take that one out in silence; that way, if there are others, they won't be attracted by the sound of a gunshot. Joel moves slowly behind the infected with his knife in one hand. When he gets close, he grabs the infected by the neck and plunges the knife into his chest several times until the body stops moving and drops to the floor.

Outside the building, Bob tries to think of how he is going to distract the infected from the old truck so Dylan can escape, so they can finish the job. " _Okay, kid, we have to do this the hard way_ ," Bob says on the radio. " _I have the smoke bomb that Miller brought, so we can use that to distract the infected - there are only ten left, so use your gun first and we'll finish them with the knife."_

" _Okay, but I don't have many bullets in my gun,"_ Dylan answers.

" _Just try to shoot them in the head! Kid, I'm behind one of the rusty cars close to you, so be ready - as soon as I throw the bomb, start to shoot, okay?"_ says Bob.

Inside the building, Joel has just finished killing his third infected and moves now to the end of the corridor. He's already checked some of the little offices, but hasn't found anything. When he gets to the end of the corridor, he sees that there is a little break area, for the people that worked here in the past. There are some old tables, rusty chairs, and old candy and beverage machines. Then he sees a door blocked by a Stalker; the door seems to be an entrance to a big office. _If the infected are trying to enter that office, that means that Harold has to be in there,_ Joel thinks. He pulls out his gun because the Stalker is going to be more difficult to kill with the knife.

Outside, Bob launches the smoke bomb into the infected, and when they get confused, he and Dylan start to shoot. They use the old cars to get some cover as the infected start to chase them; they don't have many bullets, so making the Runners go in different directions helps to take them out.

Inside, _Bam!...Bam!...Bam!_ the Stalker drops to the floor with multiple shots to the head, then Joel gets close to make sure that the thing is dead. Once he makes sure, he stands up and proceeds to the door. "Harold! Harold! Are you in there? It's me, Joel!" he says while trying to open the door. _Looks like it's blocked from inside_... he starts to push harder until the thing blocking the door comes loose, then he proceeds to enter the room.

When Joel enters the room, he sees a long empty space with just some broken desks and chairs. Then he sees two infected bodies in the middle of the room. To the side, he sees a wall with some broken windows, and the light from the full moon outside illuminates the place a little. He starts to look for Harold, calling him with a low voice, and when he gets to the end of the room, he sees a shadowy figure in one of the corners. When he gets closer, he can see that it's Harold's body. "No!..no..no, Harold, you can't be dead, buddy," Joel says as soon as he gets close to the body.

He kneels in front of the body. He can see that Harold has an injury in one of his legs. "That looks bad," he says, then he proceeds to put two fingers on Harold's neck to check the pulse.

"You... let... him in…" Joel hears like a whisper.

"Harold?" Joel says, surprised.

"You… let him in..." he says more clearly this time.

"Harold, it's okay, it's just me, Joel… there's nobody else in here, I killed the Stalker that tri-" Joel is interrupted by a loud scream coming from the doorway.

He turns around and sees the Clicker launch at him. He stands up and grabs the Clicker by the shoulders just in time. His gun drops to the floor when he tries to avoid the Clicker's bite. Then the Clicker pushes him into one of the broken windows and he gets cut on the arm. He pushes the Clicker away from him, toward the center of the office. He tries to get a grip on the knife he has, but the Clicker is stronger and takes him down to the floor. _Shit! I can't end like this,_ he says to himself.

Outside, Bob and Dylan have just finished with the last of the infected. "Wow! You killed those last three with only your knife! You're pretty cool for an old man," says Dylan.

"Yeah… we're lucky that they were just Runners. Now let's go check to see if Miller found our man," says Bob.

"Okay, but let's hope we don't encounter more infected, because I'm out of bullets," says Dylan.

"You can always use this." Bob gets down and takes an old pipe from the ground, then throws it to Dylan.

Dylan catches the pipe and looks at it. "What am I supposed to do with this?" he says.

"Improvise!" Bob answers and starts walking to the big building.

Inside the building, Joel is still fighting the Clicker that has him in a strong grip. He tries to get him off, but the thing is too strong for him. He is losing strength after getting cut in one arm when the Clicker pushed him against the window, and now the wound is starting to bleed. He looks to Harold but knows that he can't do anything... then he starts to hear Ellie in his mind.

 _Come on, Joel! You're better than that… You promised, remember, that you're never going to leave me alone and that you'll be with me forever…. You promised, Joel…_

He then tries for the last time to muster up some strength and push away the head of the Clicker so he can grab his knife. But as soon as he does that, a cracked sound is heard in the room... then the Clicker feels numb on top of him. He rolls the beast over and sees Dylan in front of him with a pipe in his hand.

"Well done, kid! I told you that you can do it," says Bob when he offers a hand to Joel.

Joel takes the hand and gets up quickly. "Thanks. Shit, that was close, I think I owe you one, kid," Joel says.

"Oh man, you're bleeding," Dylan says as he sees the wound in Joel's arm.

"It's not that bad," Joel says, then starts to move to where Harold is.

"Hey, buddy, it's all over now, we can take you back home," Joel says when he checks the wound in his leg.

"We better check him out, to make sure he doesn't have any bite marks," says Bob, pointing at him with Joel's pistol that he picked up from the floor.

"Hey! Cool off, man, we're not going to leave him behind," Joel says, irritated.

"It's okay... Joel... they are... right, we... can't take the... risk to expose the town," Harold says with a weak voice.

When Joel finishes examining Harold's body, he adjusts the tourniquet and starts to get him up. "He lost a lot of blood so we need to get moving quick. It's going to take us like five hours to get back to Jackson," says Joel.

"Do you think you can walk?" asks Bob.

"I think… so," says Harold.

"Okay! Let's go." Then Bob puts Harold's arm on his shoulder, the same as Joel did, and starts to walk out of the room. He gives the gun to Dylan so he can cover them if more infected show up.

They go down the stairs and walk through the building. "Did you two kill all the infected outside?" Joel asks.

"Yes, we did... Well, Bob killed most of them… unless there's more in the last building, but with all the sound we made, they'd be here by now," Dylan says.

They walk out of the building and to the hill to get to the camp where they left the horses. There, Joel puts Harold on Dylan's horse and tells Dylan to take Harold with him because he is the small one and the horse can carry both. He and Bob go and climb up to theirs. The four get moving out of that part of the forest to get back to Jackson.

When they disappear in the dark of the forest, a shadowy figure is looking at them from inside one of the old buildings.


	8. Chapter 8 : Back to Home

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

* * *

 **A/N:** Warning; Hi this chapter have a strong suggestion of rape scene, even that I soften a little the scene, I just feel the need to put a warning in there just in case. This is part of the story I hope that the people that is reading this story, be okay with that thanks.

* * *

 **Chapter 8 : Back to Home**

 ***Early that night in Jackson***

Ellie goes up the stairs as soon as Maria tells her to take a shower and goes to the bathroom. Tommy and Maria's house is a two-story too, bigger than any house in Jackson, including Joel and Ellie's house. The house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, one in the corridor and a small one in the master room which is where Maria and Tommy sleep. The other two rooms are for visitors, on the second floor. On the first floor, there's a big kitchen, a living room with some furniture - including a TV, probably one of few that exist in town. They have a little closet and a big room in the back just past the stairs; that's where they have the house office, for small meetings and for coordinating the administration of the town.

When Ellie closes the door of the bathroom, she hangs the clean towel on the towel bar. Then she proceeds to take off her clothes and put them on the floor. She runs the water until it gets warm enough and gets into the shower. Ellie puts her head into the warm water and lets the water run over her, " _this feels so good,"_ she says to herself. She just stays there thinking; she can't get Joel off her mind, and what can happen out there.

She finishes bathing after an hour in there, then gets out of the shower and dries off, wrapping the towel around her and stepping out of the bathroom. Then she proceeds to go to the spare room where she puts on some pajamas that she'd left there the last time she stayed with Tommy and Maria for the night. After a few minutes, she goes out of the room, goes downstairs, and enters the kitchen, where Maria is.

"Hey! Sweetie, is everything alright? You took a long time in there," says Maria as soon as Ellie enters the kitchen.

"Yeah...sorry about that, I didn't mean... to use all your hot water," Ellie responds.

"It's okay, Ellie, you don't need to apologize for that. I just hope that helped you to relax a little!"

"Well… not really, I just can't stop thinking about Joel. What if something goes wrong?"

"Okay, maybe we can talk a little after you eat something. Here - I prepared some soup, maybe this can help you to calm down, okay?" Then Maria puts two bowls of soup on the table with some bread so the two of them can eat together.

Maria starts to eat, but sees that Ellie is just moving the spoon in the bowl, like she's thinking. Then she hears Ellie speak in a low voice.

"Any news on Joel?"

"What?" is all Maria says.

"I heard… umm before I entered the shower, that you were talking with Tommy on the radio. Do you know if he has any information on Joel's group? Are they back yet?"

"I'm sorry, sweetie, Tommy said that he hasn't received any communication from them yet. But he said there is a probability that they're going to travel a long way south and that is going to take all night."

"I'm scared!...I just… What if something happens to Joel?"

"Ellie, I know that Tommy and I… we're not really you-" Maria starts when Ellie interrupts her.

"No!... Maria, I'm the one that's supposed to be sorry. I know that Tommy and you are always good to me and accept me as part of your family. I shouldn't have said that Tommy and you want us out of here...I just…."

"Ellie, it's okay if you need to talk - if something is bothering you, or you have a problem, I want you to know that you can always talk to me, okay?"

"I just… What if he doesn't come back? The last thing I did was yell at him and tell him to fuck himself… Sorry, I don't mean to…"

"It's okay, Ellie, don't worry."

"He must think that I hate him."

"Of course not, he's never going to think that. He loves you, Ellie, more than you think. He knows that you didn't mean to say that."

 _Yeah… Loves me, but not in the way I want him to... or is it?_ Ellie thinks.

"Ellie, Joel is a strong man, he is going to be fine and they're going to come back soon, okay? You don't need to worry, he knows what he's doing. Now finish your food and after that, I'm going to make some tea. That should help you to sleep a little, you need that, okay?"

After they finish dinner, Maria gives Ellie the tea and helps her upstairs to the spare room, so Ellie can get some sleep. Maria tells her that if Tommy comes back with some information about Joel that she'll wake her up immediately. Then Maria goes back down to the kitchen and starts to wash the dishes, then takes some tea herself and goes to the living room to wait for her husband.

"You better come back, Joel... that girl still needs you," says Maria while drinking her tea.

 ***Later that night in the Forest***

"Okay, we've been on this path for hours," says Dylan. "How much longer do you think it's going to take to get back to Jackson, Joel?"

"Well, we just passed the river, so I think like two more hours, maybe more," Joel answers. "Hey, Harold, how you holding up back there?"

"I… think… I'm… fine, but I almost don't feel my leg," Harold answers.

"You lost a lot of blood, buddy, and we have to do the tourniquet tighter, so the bleeding stops. You're lucky to be alive, man," says Joel.

"Yeah… thanks to you… my friend," says Harold.

"Hey, that was a brave thing to do, you know, making those infected follow you so they don't chase the others," says Dylan.

"Yeah… it's… It's the least I could do, it was my idea to… go and check… those houses," Harold says in a low voice.

"It's okay, buddy, you just hang in there and we'll take you home soon, okay?" Joel says to Harold and continues through the path.

One hour passes for Joel and the others; they're still passing through the forest on the way back to Jackson. But luckily for them, they don't encounter any more problems.

"Damn, dude, even with the moonlight I can't see shit ahead," Dylan says.

"It's okay, I think we're close. Hey, Harold, are you okay?" Joel asks, looking at Harold's leg.

"Yeah… I don't feel the leg much, so the pain is… gone for now," Harold answers.

"Well, that's not good," says Dylan.

"Dylan is right, that doesn't sound good, maybe we can stop and check your leg," Joel suggests.

"I'm fine, Joel, and stop… it's going to cost us more... time to get back. I don't want to... be here long if we… encounter more infected," says Harold.

"Speaking of infected, where's Bob - I last saw that old man, like, 20 minutes ago," says Dylan, just looking around to check if he can see him.

"I think that he went ahead to make sure that we don't encounter more infected," says Joel.

"Really! Damn… Joel, I'm starting to think that this guy is something serious. I don't know... He's just starting to freak me out, dude," says Dylan.

"Ha - you don't see... half of the things… that guy does," says Harold.

"You know him?" asks Dylan.

"Of course… he's been living in Jackson for like 18 years… I think he came when... Maria`s father started to build the wall... to protect the town… Speaking of Maria… how is it that Tommy sent you… to find me… Isn't that Albert's job?" Harold asks, now looking at Joel.

"Ha ha... Do you really wish that Tommy would've sent that guy to find you?"

"Okay, so Tommy… just asked you to come?" Harold asks.

"No! He volunteered. Volunteered me, too, actually," says Dylan.

"Wow… Joel, I didn't know that I meant... that much to you," says Harold with a surprised expression.

"Are you kidding me, you're the only friend I have there, and you did the same for me on several occasions, when I started to go out to hunt," says Joel.

"Oh! So he's your only friend, huh? Wow, so what am I now?" says Dylan indignantly.

"Ha, if you really… want to be Joel's friend... you have to learn all about… old motorcycles, especially Harley Davidsons," says Harold.

"Really! Is that all you two talk about, all the time? -about the old days? Shit!... I was three when all this shit started, I don't even remember seeing one," says Dylan.

"Oh, don't worry, kid, you did well today. So that means that you are close to the friend thing," says Joel sarcastically.

"Jesus, Joel! Thanks, that makes me feel much better now," says Dylan.

Then everyone stays silent for a moment when they hear something getting close…. and then...

"The coast is clear," yells Bob when he approaches the group. "We are now close to Jackson's main gate."

"Shit! Man... what the hell... are you planning on giving us a heart attack?" says Dylan when Bob gets in front of them.

"Okay, do you hear that, Harold? We are almost back home, so that means that you're going to be okay, the doctor is going to take care of you," says Joel to Harold when he gets close to the horse he and Dylan are on.

 ***Back in Jackson one hour later***

In Tommy's house, Ellie opens her eyes and tries to look around to see if she can recognize the place. She doesn't even remember going to bed. The place is dark; she can't see much. Ellie is lying in bed but she doesn't know whose bed or where - the door is closed and the windows have the curtains closed, too. She tries to get up, but for some reason she can't; then Ellie hears a footstep getting close to the door and feels that someone is trying to enter the room.

"Joel? … Joel, is that you?" Ellie says, looking at the door.

It's still too dark to see... then she feels like someone opens the door, enters the room, and closes the door again. "Hello, love, did you miss me?" she hears a voice say, close to the bed.

"No… no… no... not again, this can't be possible," Ellie says and tries to get out of the bed again, but her arm won't move. She looks at both sides of the headboard of the bed and sees that both of her hands are tied to the bed. She tries to force the rope loose, but she can't. Then David comes closer and sits on the bed with her.

"Remember when I told you that we're going to have a little fun after dinner?" David says.

"Why, you... just go and leave me the fuck alone!" Ellie yells at him, closing her fist, like she wants to punch him in the face, but she's still unable to move.

"Oh, Ellie, you should know by now that I'm never going to do that, I'm always going to be with you. I`m not like him - he's always going to leave you. Ellie, he's not coming back - you know that," David says as he caresses the side of her face.

"NO! You're wrong... Joel promised that he's never going to leave me... he cares about me," Ellie says, still struggling to free herself.

"Oh... poor little girl, you're going to be very disappointed when you find out he doesn't care about you. That he only sees you as a replacement for all he lost."

"Shut up! I won't listen to you… you're dead… you're only in my mind and this is just a bad dream. You're not real! You're not even in here," Ellie says, turning her head away from him.

"Oh, little love, maybe it's time to show you what you really need." Then David takes out a little knife from his back pocket and shows it to Ellie. "Do you remember this?"

"What!... How did you… that's my... you shouldn't have had that...?" Ellie says, looking at what David just showed her.

"Yes! I think this brings back some memories, but this time I`m going to put this to better use." Then he gets close to Ellie and starts to cut her shirt.

"What are you doing… No… no, you can't!" Ellie protests when she tries again to get free of the bed.

David finishes cutting her shirt and throws it to the side of the bed, then he stands up to the side and starts to look at Ellie's upper body. "Well, I see that you've grown a little, so this is going to be more interesting than what I imagined," he says to Ellie and starts to get close to her.

Ellie tries to move again, but she can't do anything. He grabs her face with his hands and kisses her. He tries to deepen the kiss and push his tongue into her mouth, but Ellie tries hard to keep her mouth shut. Then after a moment, he breaks away from the kiss and looks at her. "Oh, little love, why do you always try to resist this - I know you want this," David says.

"NO!... I don't want this, you fucking sicko!" Ellie yells at him.

"Oh! I see.. You want _him_! Oh, that breaks my heart a little, but I think that that's okay with me. You can pretend I'm him if you want. I'd prefer that you think of me, of course... I can give you more than he can," David says, looking at her body again.

Ellie tries hard to scream but she can't do anything. _Why?...why can't I move. Why can't I just wake up?... I never wanted this… not like this, not with him,_ " she says to herself.

Then David gets off the bed and goes to the bottom part, then he starts to look at her. "Oh, you're so beautiful and taste so good, my little Ellie. Better than I ever imagined, but now it's time to finish what we started two years ago," he says, then goes back to the bed again and starts to pull Ellie`s pajamas and underwear off. When he finishes and Ellie is completely naked in the bed, he gets up and starts to undress himself.

Tears start to escape Ellie's eyes when she sees David getting into the bed and stopping in front of her. "No!... Please don't... do this… Please!" Ellie says to him as she tries to get off the bed.

Then he gets close to her again. "You're going to love this so much, little girl, that you're not going to want him anymore. Did you know, the first time is always special?" David says, looking at her with a smile on his face.

"No!... Please don`t… JOEL! HELP ME… PLEASE… JOEL!" she is screaming now.

"He's not coming, Ellie, and you know why? I know - because he's dead," David says to her.

"NO! You're lying… he's coming for me... he's going to stop you!" Ellie yells at him.

Then David moves his hand to grab something from the side of the bed, and puts it in front of Ellie's face. "Do you recognize this?" he says.

Ellie looks at the bloody shirt and recognizes that it's the shirt that Joel was wearing when he left town looking for his friend.

"See! My little love… he's dead and he's not coming to save you… You are mine now," he says to Ellie and starts laughing, moving closer to her….

"NOOOOOOOO!" she screams and wakes up.

Ellie is still screaming when Maria opens the door and quickly goes to her side. "GET OFF ME… GET OFF ME… NOOOOO… JOEL!" Ellie is screaming when Maria sits on the bed and takes her by the shoulders. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" she yells, not even looking at Maria.

"Ellie! It's me... Maria. Ellie, everything's fine, you just had a nightmare, okay?" she tries to comfort her.

"What happened?... Is she okay?" Tommy asks when he enters the room too.

"Just stay there, honey... Okay, she just had a bad dream," answers Maria.

"He's here… please keep him away from me," says Ellie with a shocked face, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Ellie, it's okay, there's nobody here except for Tommy and me, okay! You're in our house, everything's fine now, it was just a bad dream, no one is going to hurt you, okay?" Then she tells Tommy to get some water as she tries to calm Ellie down. After Maria says that, he goes downstairs to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

After a moment, Ellie starts to calm down when Maria gives her a hug and keeps talking to her. "Ssshh it's okay, Ellie, you're fine now, no one is going to hurt you… okay!"

"Where... is Joel?" is the only thing that Ellie manages to say.

"Oh!... Ellie, Joel hasn't come back yet, he's still out there," Maria says, still trying to keep Ellie calm.

Then Tommy comes back from the kitchen and enters the room. "Here is the water you wanted for her," he says to Maria and gives her the glass of water. In that moment, the radio starts to buzz.

" _Tommy, are you there?"_ a guy on the radio asks.

Tommy takes the radio in one hand and pushes the button to speak. "Yeah!... John, is that you?"

" _Yeah, I'm on the main gate tonight,_ " the guy on the radio says.

"Is there a problem, John?" Tommy asks. "It's kind of late."

" _It's Joel's search party, they arrived 20 minutes ago and went directly to the clinic,"_ the guy from the gate informs Tommy.

"Shit! John, why didn't you call me right away, and what do you mean they went to the clinic? What happened?" Tommy asks.

" _Well, they were in a hurry, and I had some problems with the radio and I'm alone here. Mike is sick so I couldn't abandon my post, Sir, I saw Harold had a wound in his leg that needed medical attention quick and Joel too so I let them through and I couldn't send anyone to inform you,"_ says that guy to Tommy.

"Joel?!" Ellie almost screams.

"Okay, I'm going there, thanks!" Then Tommy realizes that he's in the room with his wife and Ellie. He sees that Ellie is looking at him wide-eyed.

"No!... Joel... This can't be happening, I'm not going to lose him, too," Ellie says as she steps out of Maria's embrace, out of bed, and starts to run through the door down the stairs and out of the house. Tommy and Maria are in shock after seeing Ellie run so fast out the house, still in her pajamas.

 ***A while ago back in the clinic***

Joel and the others arrive at the clinic after the guy in charge on the gate tonight lets them pass. He says that they have some problem with the radio and that he can't call right away, but that he's going to notify Tommy as soon as possible. Joel and Dylan start to help Harold down off the horse, when Bob starts to call the doctor. The clinic is closed because it's 4:00 in the morning. The clinic is an old two-story pharmacy that the people of Jackson transformed into a clinic at the beginning of the outbreak.

"Lucky for us, the doctor sleeps in a room on the second floor of the clinic most of the time," says Dylan.

Bob continues to call the doctor, when he sees a light on the second floor go on. Then he hears the doc open a window and ask who was down there this early in the morning. Joel tells him that they found Harold and that he needs medical attention. The doc tells them to go to the front door and wait for him.

"Come in, quick," says Dr. Wilson as soon as he opens the door. Then they all proceed to enter the clinic.

"What happened - did he get bitten?" asks the doctor.

"No! He just suffered an injury in the leg, but he lost a lot of blood," says Joel.

"Okay, put him on that table, I'll get my things - send someone to Rose's house, and tell her that I have a patient and need her here a soon as possible," says the doc.

"Okay, doc," says Joel. "Dylan, you go, you know where she lives and you're the fastest."

Dylan acknowledges Joel and starts to leave the clinic. Joel and Bob put Harold on the table; he had lost consciousness as soon as they entered Jackson. The doctor comes back with the things he needs and starts to cut Harold`s pants where the wounded leg is, Joel and Bob helping him.

"How long has he been unconscious?" Dr. Wilson asks.

"Not long, it just happened when we arrived," says Joel. "We had to cauterize the wound to stop the bleeding."

"Well, that was good thinking, but if he fainted, I think that he still has internal bleeding. We have to operate on the leg as soon as Rose gets here. Take the rest of his clothes off and move him to that room over there, I'll go and prepare all the things I need for the operation," the doctor tells them.

Fifteen minutes after that, Dylan arrives with the nurse. She enters the operating room and starts to help the doctor. Joel, Bob, and Dylan stay outside the room waiting, when Joel starts to look a little dizzy.

"Are you okay, man?" says Dylan when he gets close to Joel and holds him.

"Yeah... I'm okay, just a little dizzy," Joel says.

"Okay, come and sit here, old man, I'll ask the doctor to check on your arm as soon as he finishes with Harold, okay?" says Dylan when he takes Joel and seats him on one of the clinic beds.

"Okay, kid, you just watch him - he lost some blood, too. I'll take the horses back to the stables. I'll come back later," says Bob as soon as he heads for the door.

"Okay, thanks, man," says Dylan.

"Yeah, thanks for everything, I appreciate all your help," says Joel.

"Oh, no worries, I'll be back as soon as I get the horses to the stable okay. I'll tell Tommy or Maria to come here if I see them. But they probably are on the way here if the guy on the gate called them."

After Bob leaves, Dylan checks Joel`s arm and sees blood. "Man, I think that you're bleeding again, I will check if I can get something for that," says Dylan as he moves away from Joel. Then he hears the front door open abruptly and sees that someone is just entering the clinic.

"JOEL!... JOEL!" Ellie starts to yell as soon as she enters the clinic.

"Ellie...?" Joel says as soon as he recognizes her voice.

When Ellie enters the room, she sees Joel sitting on one of the clinic beds. Joel stands up as soon as he sees Ellie start running toward him.

"Ellie, what are you doing up so-" He stops as soon as Ellie jumps on him, throwing her arms around him, pressing her face into his neck, and starts to cry. Ellie doesn't like people seeing her cry but right now she doesn't care. Then Joel starts to hug her too, as hard as he can.

"Sssh… it's okay, kiddo… it's okay… Sssh… I'm here now, I'm okay… Sssh," Joel tries to comfort her the best he can. They stay like that for almost 10 minutes, when Tommy and Maria enter the room and see the scene.

Maria and Tommy get close to them. "Fuck!... Joel, are you okay? That fucking John almost gave me a heart attack when he said that you and Harold were injured," says Tommy.

"I'm fine, brother!" Joel answers, still holding Ellie in his arms, and Ellie just tears up without saying anything.

Tommy tries to tell him that he's bleeding, but Joel gives him a signal, moving his head, so that he doesn't say anything in front of Ellie.

Then Maria looks at Dylan and asks him where Harold and Bob are. Dylan tells her that Bob is okay and that he went to take the horses back to the stable. Then he tells her that Harold suffered a serious injury in one leg and that the doctor and the nurse are working on that.

After a while, Bob returns, and he and Dylan start to explain to Tommy and Maria what happened out there. Joel goes to sit on the clinic bed with Ellie still in his arms, telling Tommy that he's going to give him a complete report later. By then, Ellie's stopped crying and fallen asleep in Joel's arms; after all that happened, he's just happy to see and hold her again.

After almost 2 hours of surgery, Dr. Wilson comes out of the room and says to the group that Harold is going to be okay, that he's going to need a blood transfusion and that he isn't going to be able to walk for a while. The doctor tells Rose to check on Joel's wound while he talks to Tommy and Maria. The nurse has to attend the wound with Ellie still in Joel`s arms because even though she is asleep, Joel won't let go of her.

When the nurse finishes, it's almost 7:00 in the morning. Joel gets up and tells Tommy that he's going to take Ellie home. Maria tells Tommy to stay in the clinic while she accompanies Joel and Ellie to their house. They walk for about half an hour until they arrive at Joel's house. Joel thanks Maria and tells her that he will talk to them later. Before going back to the clinic, she tells him that Ellie had a nightmare before they came back, that it was a bad one and he needs to talk to her about that. Joel nods to her and opens the door, goes inside, then closes the door.

He goes upstairs, takes Ellie to her room, and puts her on the bed, then kisses her on the forehead and wishes her good night. When he starts to get off of the bed, Ellie grabs his arm and holds him tight.

"Don't go… please," Ellie whispers.

"I'm not going anywhere, kiddo, I'm just going to grab a chair and sit here with you, okay?" answers Joel.

"No! I want you to get in the bed and hold me… I need that... please!"

"Ellie…it's okay, nothing's going to happen now, I'm back, okay?" Joel assures her.

"Joel... Please, I need you with me… before he comes back… please," says Ellie when tears start to form again in her eyes. Then Joel understands and gets in the bed with her, moving behind her, one arm around her and his head close to the back of hers. She grabs his hand as hard as she can and closes her eyes, then Joel moves closer to her and kisses the back of her head.

"He can't hurt you anymore, kiddo… he's dead, and I'm always going to be here to protect you, okay?" Joel whispers to her and holds her tight, just like he's done so many times before when she's had nightmares.

"You… promise?" Ellie whispers to him.

"I promise!" Joel answers.

"Joel?" Ellie says with her eyes still closed.

"Yes, baby girl..."

"I… love you," she says to him as she snuggles up to him more.

"I love you, too… Ellie."

Then Joel closes his eyes and starts to think about all that happened today. After that, both of them fall asleep, but no more nightmares that day.


	9. Ch 9 : More Promises and one good sleep

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

* * *

 **Chapter 9 : More Promises and one good sleep**

Ellie feels a little light hit her in the face through the window; she covers her face with her hand and tries to see where she is. She sees now that she's in her room, in her bed, and she doesn't remember much of what happened. Then she hears something on the other side of the room. She turns her head to the other side, and scrubs her eyes: she sees a shadow sitting in a little chair in the corner of the room.

"Joel, is that you?" she asks.

"No! Ellie, it's me… Maria!" she answers.

"Where is Joel? Is he… gone... again?" she asks Maria and starts to get out of the bed with a sad expression.

"No! Sweetheart, he's downstairs talking with Tommy," answers Maria. Then she stands up from the chair and sits next to Ellie on the bed.

"Really!… so... I need to go down there before he wants to go out again and-" she gets interrupted when Maria puts her arm around her shoulder.

"Ellie! Tommy and Joel need to discuss whatever happened out there, when they went out looking for Harold. You can talk with Joel after you take a shower, okay?" Maria tells her.

"Shower?... it's morning already?" Ellie says, surprised.

"Ha ha ha, no girl, it's 4:00 in the afternoon, you've been sleeping almost all day. I think you were so tired that you didn't even notice," says Maria, almost laughing.

"What? ...are you fucking kidding me?!" Ellie says and stands up from the bed.

"No! Ellie, I'm not fucking kidding you."

"Oh… shit, sorry, I don't mean to be so… you know."

"Ha,ha… it's okay, Ellie, I think I can handle your little language, just try not to do it in front of the small children when you're out there, okay?"

"Okay, I'll try," she says.

"Good, now go clean yourself up and change your clothes. I'll go downstairs, and when you finish, you can come down and have some food that I brought for you both. After that, you can talk to Joel alone," Maria tells her.

"Talk?... What do you mean by 'talk to him'?" Ellie asks with a scared face.

"Well, you need to talk to Joel about what you've been feeling," Maria says.

"What I feel?" ... _Shit! How does she… Did she know? ...Did she and Tommy find us in the bed sleeping together when they came here? We didn't do anything… well, I think. I don't remember much that happened after I saw him in the clinic, and only a little when we came back home and got to bed. Man, that was the best sleep I've had in months._

"Ellie, are you okay?" Maria asks. "You look a little pale."

 _Okay, Ellie, think… what did I say… maybe she doesn't know and she is only testing me. Yeah, that's... so I'll deny everything and see… yeah._

"Ellie?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I don't have any feelings… I mean-" Ellie tries to say but starts to get a little nervous.

"Ellie, you need to talk to Joel about what you said to me in the barn, you know. All the fear you have from him abandoning you, and that you're having nightmares again," explains Maria.

"Oh! ... _that_. Okay!"

"What did you think I was talking about?" asks Maria.

"Nothing, I just have a lot on my mind about how Joel left and got hurt… and… you were…"

"Ha,ha, it's okay, Ellie, I know that you get a little nervous when you need to tell Joel something. And you need to stop thinking about Joel leaving you, okay? He's not going to do that. That man is so attached to you that… I don't even know how to describe it," explains Maria.

"Do you really think that?" asks Ellie doubtfully.

"Yes, sweetheart, I think so. So stop worrying about that, and talk to him. He'll understand, okay?"

"Yeah… Okay... Umm, I'd better go now and take that shower and change, thanks for the food and everything. -Oh, I almost forgot, I'm supposed to be working in the clinic today."

"Oh, no worries about that, I talked to Dr. Wilson this morning and told him that you need a little rest today. So you don't need to go there."

"Wow, thanks, Maria!" _Great! Now I can spend the rest of the day with Joel... sweet!_

"You're welcome, sweetie, it's no big deal, I just want to let you know that if you need something or need to talk, I'm always going to be there for you, okay?" With that, Maria starts to leave the room and go downstairs.

 _Whew… She doesn't know,_ Ellie snickers to herself.

When Maria gets downstairs and goes to the kitchen, Joel and Tommy are about to finish their conversation.

"Okay, so I think that we need to send Carl`s group there to check if there are no more infected left, as soon as he comes back from the trade trip," says Tommy.

"Yeah, I reckon so - by the way, isn't he supposed to be back by now?" asks Joel.

"Yeah, but sometimes they need to go to different locations to find some of the things we need."

"Okay, but you need to send someone there as soon as possible, brother. Having infected too close to town ain't good," says Joel.

"I agree," says Maria when she enters the kitchen. "How is your arm, Joel?"

"Still hurts a little, but I don't think it's anything serious," Joel answers.

"Glad to hear that, Joel. You and the others did a great job in bringing Harold back, thanks," says Maria putting a hand in his shoulder.

"Well... Harold is my friend, and he's saved my life a few times since I got here, so it was the least I could do. Is Ellie up yet?" Joel asks.

"Yes, she's up, I told her to take a shower and change, then come down and eat something," says Maria.

"Okay then, so we'll be going now and leave both of you to eat and talk." Then Tommy gets up from the table and starts to walk to the door with Maria. "Oh! And Joel, you can take a few days off so you can take care of that arm, okay?" says Tommy, then opens the door and starts to leave.

"Thanks, Bro!" says Joel.

"No problem, Joel, see you tomorrow, okay?" With that, Tommy and Maria get out of the house and close the door.

Joel stays there, sitting at the kitchen table, thinking and waiting for Ellie. _Ellie!_ he says in his mind and starts to remember what happened in the morning when they came back from the clinic. _I carried Ellie in my arms all the way home, she was sleeping, but I could feel Ellie hug me tight... I put her in the bed as soon as we entered the house... she was already wearing her nightclothes. But then she grabbed my hand and asked me if I could stay with her... she seemed so scared... Maria told me about the nightmare she had, so I stayed with her. I snuggled up to her and hugged her tight, she seemed to be happy, and I felt-_

"Joel! ...Joel!"

He hears a voice, and immediately snaps out of his thoughts. "Ellie?" he says.

"Joel, are you okay? ...Your arm hurt? I can go and call the doc-" Ellie starts to panic.

"Ellie, it's okay, I'm fine… See, I'm still in one piece," Joel says to her jokingly.

"Fuck! Joel, this is no time to make jokes, you… you could've died out there, and I… I'd be left all alone and-" she says, and her eyes start to get wet.

"Hey! Kiddo... Come here," Joel says to Ellie with open arms.

Ellie runs into his arms and hugs him tight. Joel hugs her back. "Ellie, it's okay, I came back like I promised… see? You don't need to be upset, everything is fine now. So why don't we just go and sit at the table and eat something... okay? Then we can talk a little. That sound good to you?"

"Okay! Joel I… I'm a little hungry," she answers.

Then Joel goes to warm the food while Ellie goes to prepare the kitchen table. They sit and start to eat, when Joel notices something on Ellie. "Hey! ...why are you wearing my shirt and boxers?" asks Joel.

"Oh, it's the only clean clothing I could put on, all my clothes are dirty…" ... _and somehow I seem to like wearing your clothes! Of course, I'm not going to tell you that,_ Ellie thinks. "We need to do laundry soon."

"We! Young lady, you were supposed to wash your own clothes two days ago, remember!"

"Yeah…yeah I know, it's just that… Joel, I'm so sorry for yelling at you yesterday and for all the bad things I said… I… I didn't mean them, you know... I was just a little scared."

"Don't worry about that, kiddo, I know that you didn't mean to say those things, and I'm sorry I scared you, okay?" Joel says as they continue eating.

An hour later, they finish eating. Ellie gets up from the table and takes the plates, then goes to the sink and starts to clean the dishes. Joel remains seated, thinking about how to ask Ellie about the nightmares; he's never been good at talking about others' problems or feelings.

"Ellie!"

"Yes, Joel?"

"You're having nightmares… again?" Joel finally asks.

Ellie stops what she's doing and looks down, unsure of how much she should tell Joel about the nightmare.

Joel knows that Ellie doesn't feel comfortable with discussing that issue, but he knows that they need to talk about it. Like they have so many times, when Ellie had the nightmares before. "It's about him again, right?" Joel asks.

"...Yes!" Ellie finally answers, without looking at him.

"Ellie... you know that he can't hurt you anymore, right? He is dead and not coming back, okay? I know that the whole thing was hard on you, but you need to stop thinking that he's going to hurt you again, because that ain't going to happen," Joel says with a sad but firm voice.

"I know that, Joel, and I try to forget all that… but sometimes when I have this nightmare it feels so real, like I'm back in that place, and sometimes I see him, even here. Like he's following me... here, and trying to kill… you, and do things to me. I know it's not real but it still scares me," Ellie says sadly, but now looking Joel in the eyes.

"Kiddo, he's not real, okay, he's not coming for you or for me - it's just in your mind. I know that sometimes it's hard, but you need to try to get over that, and continue with your life. So now, when did you start to have the nightmares again?" asks Joel.

Ellie looks away and starts to wash the dishes again. Joel stands up from the table and walks over to where she is, then puts his hand on her shoulder, making her turn around and face him.

"Ellie! I know that this is difficult for you, but don't let him control your fear - we talked about this before, remember? Everything is going to be okay, but if you need to talk with someone else who can help you more than me... Maybe I can talk to Maria and see if she can find someone here that can help you with that, or maybe Dr. Wilson can help."

"Joel, I don't want to talk to anybody about this, okay? I just had them a few times, it's nothing serious. I'm okay. You just came back from out there… wounded, so please, I don't want to get into another argument with you again… okay? " says Ellie, now looking at the floor.

"Well! I don't want that either, kiddo, but I know that if you're having these nightmares again that you're not okay, so please, just try to talk to someone, okay? ...Look, I see that you don't want to talk to me… I know that I'm not good at this, but I'm just trying to help you, okay… just tell me why you're having these nightmares again, after all this time. I thought that you were going to be okay, now that we're trying to have some kind of normal life here and-" Joel gets interrupted.

"IT`S BECAUSE I'M SCARED, OKAY!" she yells at Joel and pushes him away from her.

"Ellie! Scared of what? You're safe here, nobody is gonna hurt you. Did someone try to do something to you?"

"No! ...I'm scared because of you, and if you'd just let me sleep in your bed, like we did before, I won't be having this nightmare again," Ellie answers.

"You're scared because of me? Ellie… I don't understand... I'm never going to do anything to hurt you... you know that... Right? And the reason why you don't need to sleep in my bed anymore is because you're a big girl now. We don't need to do that anymore, and you need to sleep by yourself, " Joel explains to her.

"Joel… You always keep those nightmares away when we sleep together and... I'm scared too because... I think that you're going to leave me alone, that you don`t care about me anymore. That you don't want me, like all the people that left me before, or that you'll go out there someday and get killed and I'll never see you again," Ellie tries to explain to Joel as tears start to form in her eyes.

"Ellie, why do you think that? I'm not going to abandon you, and of course I care about you. You`re the most important thing that I have in this world. I would do anything for you. I need you to understand that, okay?"

"Then why are you taking all those shifts all the time, and you don't even want to spend time with me anymore," Ellie says. "Look at you... Joel, you just went out there yesterday and almost got killed, I was so scared that I was never going to see you again... Joel," Ellie says and starts to cry.

"Come here, kiddo," Joel says and opens his arms to Ellie. Then Ellie goes to Joel and hugs him tight again. She loves having Joel close so much that she never wants to let him go again. Joel puts his arms around her, hugs her back, and kisses her on the top of her head. "Ellie, I'm so sorry if I scared you... I love you more than you can imagine, okay? So never think that I don't, okay? But you need to know that I had to go out there to find Harold. You know that he would do the same for me if I was the one out there. He's saved my life a couple of times and he is my friend... well, probably the only one I have here. Ellie, I know that I'm not your father or anything like that, but I want you to know that I'm always going to be here to protect you, okay?"

"Joel... I'm sorry that I said that to you, I don't mean that, but you need to stop treating me like I'm your daughter, or a little kid, okay? We're supposed to be partners... a team, or friends - something like that, and I'm sixteen now and I can take care of myself, too. You don't need to keep me here to be safe. I could have helped you out there. I always trust you, and you should be able to do the same."

Joel tries to say something. Instead, he keeps looking at Ellie, trying to find the words he needs to say to her, but he doesn't find any. He can kill someone without hesitation, but when it comes time for him to express some feelings, sometimes he just feels so useless.

"Joel, I know that he's your friend and that you want to help him… but that's my… point, if something… happens to you out there, what… will I do? Joel, I love you and I don't want to lose you, you are the only person that's always there for me... so why do I feel like you don't even care now?" Ellie says with tears in her eyes.

"Look, kiddo, I'm sorry if I made you think that I don't want to be with you, or don't care about you - that was not my intention, okay? Tommy needs the help, and I thought that you needed your space, now that you're getting older," Joel says as he pulls away from the hug. With one hand, he tilts Ellie's chin up so she can see his face. "Look... I promise that I won't go out there again unless it's an emergency, or I have no other choice, okay?"

"You promise?" Ellie asks.

"Reckon so, Kiddo," Joel says, pulling Ellie close to him and giving her a kiss on the forehead again. "Now, you don't need to worry about me, okay? I`m fine now and I ain't going nowhere, so try to relax a little, and try not to think about bad things - that will help you to not have any more nightmares, okay?"

"Okay, I'll try, Joel, but maybe if I can... go back to sleep... with you maybe that'll help too," says Ellie.

"Sorry, kiddo, but for now, it's better if you sleep in your own bed, okay? So now that we've had this conversation, you can go and finish cleaning the dishes, okay?" Then Ellie pulls away and goes back to the sink to finish the dishes, a bit sadly because sleep alone is not going to chase away the nightmares. After that, Joel goes to the living room and sits on the couch. He starts to look into the kitchen where Ellie is. _Oh baby girl, I`m so sorry that I scared you so much, and when I was fighting that Clicker I thought that I was never going to see you again, hear your jokes, or hold you in my arms again, and if you think that you were the only one scared, you're wrong,_ Joel says to himself.

Ellie finishes washing the dishes and looks at Joel sitting on the couch. _Wow... Joel, you said that you love me, but in what way? And you kissed me on my forehead, that felt good, but I think that it would feel better if you'd just kiss me someplace else?_ Ellie thinks. When Ellie is done, she walks to the living room, sits on the couch beside Joel, and looks at him.

"Okay, I'm done, now what, you want to do something?" Ellie says.

"Well... it's only 6:30pm and it's just too early to go to bed, so what do you want to do, kiddo? I don't need to go to work tonight - you can have me for the rest of the evening, so what's it gonna be?" Joel asks.

"Well…" _Joel, you shouldn't say that, because I can take that literally,_ Ellie says to herself and tries to stop the giggle. "You can teach me how to play that game that Tommy and you play every Sunday night, when we go to his house?"

"You mean the poker game?"

"Yeah, that one, you can teach me and I can be your partner or something like that, and Maria and Tommy can be partners," says Ellie.

"Ellie… the game don't work like that?"

"Why not? Maybe we can change the rules a little?"

"Ha,ha,ha… Okay, I will teach you how to play… properly. The cards are in one of the kitchen drawers."

"Yessss…. I'll go get them - thanks, Joel."

"You`re welcome, baby girl." _I like when she seems be happy_. Then Joel and Ellie both sit in the living room to spend the evening together.

 ***Earlier that day deep in the forest***

In an old building deep in the forest, a man stands by a large window in an old abandoned room, with his hands crossed behind him, looking at the vast expanse of Wyoming forest. He seems to be in his early 40s, with dark black hair with a little gray in it and a scar that covers part of his face. He is just standing there, thinking.

"Eh... Boss?" a voice resounds in the room when another man enters the room and starts calling him.

"Boss! ...are you okay?" says the new man.

"Yes! ...What do you want, Brandon? Don't you see that I'm a little busy here?" says the boss man with a stern voice, still looking out the window.

"Sorry… Sir... but Lukas wants to talk to you… Sir."

"Fine! Tell him that I'll go down there in a minute."

"That's not going to be necessary, boss," says another man that enters the room.

"Okay… Brandon, thanks, now you can go down there and start to help the others," says the boss man.

"Yes, Sir," says Brandon. Then the new man approaches the man at the window.

"Lukas… what do you want to discuss?" says the man, still looking at the forest.

"Sir... I think that letting them go was a mistake - they killed all the infected that we brought here. And now we have to go-."

"Don't worry, my friend, it's all part of the plan. Yes, losing all the infected is going to be a little setback, but it was a necessary loss," says the boss man.

"Necessary loss? Sir, I think that all of this is a waste of time: we've been spying on the town for more than a month, and the guy in the cabin didn't give us much information before he died."

"Relax, Lukas, taking a town like this one is going to take time and patience."

"You know that they're going to send people here, right?" says Lukas.

"Of course they will - that's why we need to move all we have here to the other place until they come and check the place out. I want you to be in charge of that. Let Brandon and a few men take care of the cleaning; I want no trace that makes them think that somebody was here, okay?"

"And you think that they're going to buy that?" says Lukas with an incredulous expression.

"Of course they will, that's the beauty of this. They're going to think that all this was an infected attack. They're going to send people here and see that the place is clean, and go back to the town. So that way, we can come back here and start to prepare things for the attack, without any problem or suspicion."

"We're going to need more infected if we're going to do this right, and that's going to take more time now," says Lukas.

"Yes! We are. So I'm going to take one of the large trucks with a few men, and go to the Jackson city that is close to here, to collect more infected. I know that this is going to take a little more time than we expected, but I know that everything is going to go as planned," says the boss man

"I still think that this is not going to end well, boss. This isn't like the other places we've taken - they have electricity, and better defenses."

"This is going to work like the other times we did this. You don't have to worry about this, okay?"

"This is not going to be like the other time… Michael, I think that we should go back home; we lost too many men in the last one, and from that, we have enough food to last us for the next two years."

"C`mon, Lukas, everything is going to be just as we planned, so relax. You worry too much."

"Michael… I know this isn't only for the food supply. Do you really think that they're going to be there this time? This obsession of yours is going to get us all killed. You didn't find them in the other place we attacked, so why do we continue doing this? It's been two years already, maybe it's time to let that go," says Lukas.

"Listen, we're going to do this whether you like it or not. You're my friend and my right hand, but don't think for a second that you are going to convince me to change my mind, okay? They're going to pay for what they did, and I'm going to enjoy that, okay? Now come, it's better if you give a hand to Brandon with his job. I'm going to come back in 2 or 3 weeks with the new cargo and by then I want everything set up. After that, we are going to have control of town and take all that we need, and maybe we'll have found what I need there too." Then he puts one arm around Lukas's shoulder and starts walking with him. "Now, C`mon, my friend, we have a lot to do and not much time to do it," says Michael.

"Okay, Boss, whatever you say."

 ***Back in Jackson at night***

"FUCK, JOEL... YOU CHEATED!" yells Ellie, getting a little frustrated.

"No! I didn't," answers Joel.

"Yes, you did - you cheated because how can you explain how you know what cards I have?" accuses Ellie with her arms across her chest.

"Ha ha, I didn't know what cards you have, I just know that you ain't got any good ones - and that is called 'Poker face,' girl," Joel says to Ellie.

"Poker… WHAT? Are you fucking kidding me!" says Ellie.

Joel starts to laugh loudly. "Yeah, that means that the other player can guess if you're bluffing or not, because you start to get nervous, or start looking other places, things like that, and that way the other person can call your bluff."

"Yeah? Well, that's fucking bullshit, and I still think that you cheated, and I don't think I like this game anymore. So maybe we can play another game, like chess or Uno - I like that game, we played when I was in that military school back in Boston," says Ellie.

"Well, that's part of the game, girl. But maybe you're right and that's too much for you. Shit… it's almost 9:00pm so it's time for you to go to your room and go to bed; you need to go to work tomorrow, okay?" Then Joel starts to pick up the cards and stands up to go to the kitchen.

Ellie stands up and looks at him. _Come on, girl, just ask him and maybe you can have another good sleep- what is the worst that can happen?_ Ellie talks to herself. "Joel… can I sleep in the room with you tonight?" asks Ellie, a little shy.

"What did you say?" Joel asks, pretending he didn't hear her the first time.

"Can we sleep together in the same bed? Like we did this morning."

"Ellie… we don't need to do that now, I thought that we made that clear?" says Joel.

"I know… but what if I have another... nightmare?"

"Kiddo… you're not going to sleep alone in the house this time, I'll be in the next room and I can leave the two doors open. So if you have a bad dream or need something, you just call me, okay?"

"But that's not the same - I'll feel better if you're in the bed with me."

"Ellie, that ain't right, okay: we can't be sleeping together in the same bed, it's… not correct for an old man like me to sleep with a teenage girl."

"Why not? It's not like we haven't done that before, and that felt fine to me. Joel, this morning was the best sleep I've had in months."

"Sorry, kiddo, but I can't do that, okay? You have to sleep in your own bed tonight, okay?"

"Fuck, Joel, I don't see what the problem is with that, and I-" she is interrupted.

"Ellie, I'm not going to have a discussion about this, just go to bed, okay? I understand that you felt scared, but I'm here, nothing is going to happen to you… or me, okay? I'm going to take a shower now, and when I finish, I want to see you in your room sleeping. Now go," Joel says with a firm voice.

"Fuck! Joel, if I have a nightmare again, I'm going to blame that on you," and with that, she starts walking upstairs and enters her room.

 _Damn, Ellie, why do you have to be so difficult sometimes_ , Joel whispers to himself as he goes upstairs.

Joel enters the bathroom and starts to take off his shirt, very carefully so as not to hurt the wound in his arm. He has some clean bandages that the nurse gave him, so now he proceeds to take the old one off. When he finishes, he takes the rest of his clothes off and turns on the water tap of the shower. He gets into the bathtub and puts his head under the water. It's cold, but maybe that's a good thing, because he starts to think of Ellie's body again, so maybe the cold water can help him.

 _She is so beautiful, why can't I get her out of my mind now? Just because I almost died and would never see her again, or just because she seems so grown up now. Oh, I can't take my mind off those green eyes of hers, or her soft skin, and her nice breasts… shit, Joel, what are you doing? After all the fucking shit that you've done for the last twenty-one years, you are falling in love with a teenage girl? Shit, what is wrong with you?!_

After one hour in the shower, Joel finishes cleaning himself up and steps out. Then he dries off, puts the new bandage on his wounded arm, and puts on his sleeping clothes: black shorts and a white t-shirt. When he finishes, he opens the door of the bathroom and steps out. He walks to his room and makes a stop in front of Ellie's room, but the door is closed. _Fuck, now she is going to be pissed at me again_ , Joel whispers to himself.

Then he proceeds to open the door of his room and turn the light on, but when he looks at the bed... " _What the fuck?"_ he says in a low voice. What he sees is Ellie sleeping in his bed. She is on one side of the bed, with her back facing him. He just stands there looking at her, because she is wearing only a red tank top and pink panties. _Fuck! Girl, what the hell you wanna do to me, give me a heart attack?_ Joel says to himself.

After ten minutes of Joel looking at Ellie and trying to stop his perverted mind and his hard dick, he decides to go to the bed. He closes the door, turns off the light, and gets in the bed, the moon lighting the room a little so it's not in complete darkness. Then he positions himself behind her and starts to pass his hand over her soft arm slowly. He doesn't know why he's doing that, but he can't stop for some reason. His dick is getting hard again, when he moves his hand lower on her body and starts to rub her legs too, but stops when he touches her buttocks. _Fuck, Joel, you can't do this, she's just a little girl, isn't she?_ he tells himself.

After that, he just pulls his arm up and put its around her waist, just hugging her, then lays his head close to her neck and closes his eyes. " _Good night, Ellie_ ," he just whispers to her and gives her a little kiss on the neck. Thinking about what a fucked up man he is, and how someday he's going to hell.

After Joel falls asleep, Ellie opens her eyes with a small smile on her face. " _Good night, to you too... Joel,"_ she whispers back to him. She closes her eyes again and goes back to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10 : One Good Day

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

* * *

 **Chapter 10 : One Good Day**

Ellie opens her eyes slowly, trying to figure out where she is, and when she looks around, she sees that she's in Joel's room. "Okay... I'm in Joel`s bed so that part wasn't a dream then! But where's Joel? He's not here, must be down in the kitchen! But I slept with him again, that's great, and I slept all night without having any nightmares," says Ellie, removing the blanket, now sitting up in the bed.

 _Did Joel touch me last night? Or was that a dream? He kissed me, too… on my neck... wow. Okay. Should I ask about last night… how he feels about me? -or maybe I can let him talk first. After all, he didn't do much, just a kiss on my neck and… he touched my... butt! Shit, was he thinking about me when he did it? Or someone else? Then was he awake or asleep? Dammit, so many questions! I have to figure this out first before_ \- She is taken out of her thoughts.

Riiiinnnngggg….

"What?... shit, it's the alarm clock, I have to go to work - where are my clothes?… yeah, shit, this isn't my room." Seeing that, Ellie gets up off the bed and goes to her room as fast as she can.

"Ellie! Ellie! Are you awake? I hear the alarm," Joel asks her from downstairs.

"Yes… Joel, I hear that, I'm just going to the bathroom to change, okay?"

"Hurry up or you'll be late for work, kiddo," answers Joel.

Ellie goes to the bathroom and cleans herself up, changes into her regular work clothes, and gets down to the the kitchen. When she enters, she sees Joel put some pancakes on the table, _Shit... He made my favorite breakfast now? Damn, Joel, what did you do last night that I don't remember,_ Ellie tells herself.

Then Ellie sits at the table with a big smile. "Wow... Joel, this is my favorite food… what's the occasion?... My birthday was more than a month ago." _Is he feeling guilty or happy about last night?_ Ellie asks herself.

"Ha,Ha, no! Kiddo, it's not a special occasion, I just wanted to do something for you, that's all," Joel says.

"Well… Thanks." _Yeah... Maybe you did that last night!_ Ellie says to herself, and starts to eat. "Oh… Joel… did you sleep... well last... night?"

"I think so, why?"

"Oh... nothing… because of your injury on your arm... and all that happened yesterday, I thought that you might be having some problem sleeping."

"I`m fine, kiddo, no need to worry about that, okay, I'll be in good condition soon. Speaking of that, I talked to Tommy yesterday and he told me to take a few days off, 'til my arm gets better. So I was thinking of asking if I can go on Sunday to a place north of the dam."

"What?... You want to go out again? You promised me that you're not going out there again!" Ellie says, standing up from the table.

"Hold your horses, kiddo, just let me finish, okay?" Joel says, putting his hand up in front of him. "Ellie, there's a little lake there, and I was thinking of taking you there and starting to teach you how to swim."

"Joel! OMIGOD… Are you serious?... You aren't trying to… OMIGOD," Ellie says, then goes over to Joel and gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek several times.

"Okay, okay, it's not a big deal, kiddo."

"Are you fucking kidding!... I'd forgotten about that promise you made me, when we were out there. Wow, thanks, Joel - now I love you even more," Ellie says, smiling and blushing at the same time.

"Yeah, I love you too, kiddo, but now you have to go to work or you're going to be late, okay?"

"Shit... I have to go, but thanks, you made my day so happy that I can-"

"You're still going to do laundry, after you come back from work later, okay?" Joel says.

"Damn, Joel… you sure know how to take the happiness of something," says Ellie, dropping her smile and walking to the door.

"See you later, kiddo, have fun at work."

"Yeah… See you later, Joel, and thanks for the breakfast, that was, wow… great. I can't wait for the swimming lesson on Sunday," says Ellie before leaving the house.

Joel stays seated at the kitchen table for a little longer, thinking. _Dammit, Joel, what're you doing? You are a fifty-year-old man, you don't need to act like this. You should not be touching her like that, or having those fantasies about her, she is just a kid,_ Joel says to himself. _At least she didn't mention it, so maybe she thought it was a dream or something. Maybe teaching her how to swim can change this whole thing with Ellie, yeah… that could be a good distraction._

 _Okay, seeing as how Ellie's gonna be occupied almost all day, I should go to the clinic to check on Harold, and then go to ask Tommy about the swimming lesson that I'm planning for Ellie._ With that, Joel gets up from the table and goes upstairs to change so he can start his day.

After he finishes getting ready, Joel leaves the house and goes to the clinic first. When he arrives at the clinic, opens the door, and enters, he sees that the nurse is attending a kid that looks like he has a broken arm. The kid looks like he's only about ten years old. "Hi, sorry for the interruption, my name is Joel Miller, I came here to see Harold Thompson?" asks Joel.

"Just a moment please, Mr. Miller," answers the nurse.

"Okay, honey, you're lucky that the arm's not broken, just dislocated. I put your arm back in place but you can't use it for a week, okay? Now put your arm here and the other part around your neck, that way you can't move your arm, and rest it for a week. Now you can go home and tell your Mom you're okay, and stop jumping down from the roofs of those old houses," says the nurse to the boy before the kid leaves the clinic. "Okay, Mr. Miller, now how can I help you?"

"Harold Thompson?"

"Oh, right, your friend. Just follow me, Mr. Miller - we moved him to a separate room," says the nurse.

"You can call him Joel, he don't much like to be called Mr. Miller, isn't that right?" says Dylan as soon as he gets out of the room where Harold is.

"Dylan! What're you doing here? You're supposed to be working on the wall?"

"I came here to donate blood for Harold. After that, your brother gave me the rest of the day off," says Dylan.

"Wow, that's great, I didn't know you were Harold's blood type. I know that Harold and you are not close, so thank you for all your help - not only for this but for all that you did out there, too."

"Oh, c`mon, Joel, we all live here - we're like a big family now, so we have to help each other, right?" says Dylan, putting his arm around Joel's shoulder.

"I don't want to interrupt your little chat, but your friend is sleeping right now. I gave him something for the pain so he can rest, so you need to lower your voice, okay? He can't be disturbed. His condition is stable, but he needs the rest, so now if you came here to donate blood you can come with me. After that, I can check your wound for any infection and change the bandage, okay, Mr. Miller - oh, I mean... Joel, is it?" says the nurse as she proceeds to collect Dylan's blood.

The nurse gathers the things for the extraction and orders Dylan to lay back on one of the clinic beds. She starts to do her job while the two men continue the conversation between them.

"Hey… How's everything with Ellie? Are you two okay now?" asks Dylan. "After that fight in your house, I thought she wasn't going to talk to you for awhile."

"We're okay, I think. We talked after she got a good rest yesterday. Wow, she almost slept all day. I don't think that she's slept very well for the past few days."

"Yeah... I know, I went to your house yesterday to see how you were doing, and Maria answered the door and told me that you and Ellie were sleeping all day long. So I told her that I'm going to come back to see you later. Then I went back to my house to rest a little until my next turn shift on the wall…"

After an hour in the clinic, Dylan and Joel finish their conversation. The nurse finishes taking Dylan's blood, and proceeds to attend Joel's wound and change the bandage. Then Joel says goodbye to Dylan and asks the nurse if he can come back later to see his friend when he wakes up. After that, he goes to the front door of the clinic and leaves.

 _Now I need to find Tommy, and discuss the swimming thing with him,_ says Joel to himself as he walks on the streets on the way to Tommy`s house.

 ***Some time later with Ellie***

"Okay, Mr. Torres, I'm finished with the chicken and pig, so what do you need me to do?" asks Ellie.

"Por favor, Ellie, puedes llamarme Victor, ya llevas trabajando aquí por más de seis meses. A si que no necesitas ser tan formal, puedes llamarme solo Victor okay?" says Victor, speaking Spanish to Ellie.

"What?... Sorry, Mr. Torres, I don't understand what you said to me right now. You want me to do what?" says Ellie with a lost expression on her face.

"Ja, ja, sorry, young lady, some time I forget not to speak Spanish to the people, except for my son. I just say that you can call me Victor, okay?"

"Okay! Señor Victor, so what do I do now?"

"Ha, ha, just Victor, okay? Well, there not much to do in the stables, my son Toby and Jennifer are taking care of the cows now. But you can go and feed the new ponies, seem like we lost 4 horses three days ago and the rest are been using to patrol and hunt trip. We need to give more attention to those one now. After that, you can go home, okay?"

"Okay, I can do that - thanks, Mr. Torres," says Ellie.

"Victor! Please," says Victor on the way out of the stables.

Ellie goes and starts to do her new assignment; she goes to the stables where the ponies are and starts to get them cleaned up. Two hours later, she finishes cleaning up all of them and starts to feed them, when she hears a familiar voice.

"Hey! Ellie… you in there?" asks Jenna before entering the stables.

"Jenna! ...Jenna, is that you?" Ellie answers as she gets out of the corral where the ponies are.

"Yes, it's me."

As soon as the two girls see each other, they run and hug. After a few moments, they separate from each other and smile.

"Are you alright? I was so worried about you, after all that happened with your father and-" Jenna is cut off.

"Jenna… Joel is not my father, remember?" says Ellie.

"Oh… right, sorry, sometimes I forget. But he's okay, right? I heard that he was injured during the search for that guy.. Harold, is it?"

"He's fine, he just got a cut in his arm, nothing serious."

"What about the… fight you had with him? Are you okay or do you need to talk - I can help if you want. We can talk with my mom, or…" Jenna stops when Ellie puts one hand on her shoulder.

"Jenna, I'm fine, everything's okay. I talked to Maria, and with Joel when he came back," says Ellie.

"Okay, but you know that I'll always be there for you, right?"

"Yes, I know, thank you, you're the best friend I've had in a long time." She starts to think of Riley.

"So you want to hang out this evening?" says Jenna.

"I would love to, but I can't. After I finish here, I have to go home and do my laundry," says Ellie.

"Okay then, we can do something tomorrow - it's Saturday and there won't be much work to do around here," says Jenna.

"Okay! We can go out tomorrow," says Ellie, then says goodbye to Jenna. "And tell your mom that I'm going to go to work on Monday, okay?"

"Sure, I'll tell her that, so see you tomorrow, and don't think that I forgot about that boy of yours," says Jenna, smiling at Ellie on the way out.

After Jenna is gone, Elie goes back to finish her job and heads home.

 ***Later in the afternoon with Joel***

Joel arrives at Tommy's house and knocks on the door. After a moment, the door opens and Maria is standing in front of him. "Oh, hello, Maria, I didn't know that you were going to be here at this time of day. Is my brother here?" Joel asks her; for some reason she always makes him a little nervous.

"Sorry, Joel, Tommy's not here, he's with Albert right now, discussing some security details. There something I can help you with? -is Ellie okay?" says Maria.

"Oh, okay, I just wanted to ask him something, but I can come back later; it's not urgent."

"Joel, it's okay, you can ask me - is it something you need help with, or Ellie? I know that these last few days have been difficult for the both of you, so if there's something I can do to help, just tell me, okay?"

"It's just… I need a favor. I know it ain't the best time, but-" Joel is interrupted.

"Of course, Joel, please come in. We can discuss this inside." Maria pulls Joel inside the house and closes the door, then directs him to the kitchen. After half an hour talking, Joel finishes explaining what he wants to do for Ellie to Maria.

"Well... I think that that's a good idea, Joel, that you want to teach Ellie to swim. She can use that in the future, and after all that's been happening between you two... I think that Ellie and you need a little time together. But going outside after yesterday's incident with the infected... do you think that's a good idea right now?" says Maria.

"Yeah... I thought about that, but the place I'm talking about is north of the dam, like half an hour from there. The incident with the infected was way south of the river, so I don't think we'll have any problem with that," answers Joel.

"Yes, that may be true, but don't you think it's a little risky? Even though we're sending more patrol to check the perimeter of the town, we don't know if there are more infected close to town now."

"No offense, Maria, but I think that Ellie and me can take care of ourselves out there just fine," says Joel with a stronger expression on his face.

"I don't doubt that, Joel, I just don't see how this is a good idea right now - maybe you can wait until Carl`s group comes back and checks all the areas."

"Well... in some ways I would agree with you, but Ellie is going through a tough time right now. I think that she needs this right now. She's confused, and having this nightmare again ain't helping."

"Okay... Joel, I'll talk to Tommy tonight and we'll let you know tomorrow, okay? But you have to promise to take all the precautions to secure the safety of both of you out there, okay?" says Maria in a more serious voice.

"You don't have to worry about that - you know I'll do anything to make sure that nothing happens to Ellie," says Joel. Then he gets up out of the chair and prepares to leave the house.

"Oh, one more thing, Joel," says Maria as she gets up out of her chair too and goes to follow Joel.

"And what's that?" asks Joel.

"That we need to talk about the problem you and Albert have," says Maria as she stands in front of the door of her house.

"Shit... woman, can't we leave that for another time? I have other concerns right now than talking about that shithead, okay?" says Joel as he starts to walk out to the street without looking back at her.

"Joel, I'm not kidding, we need to talk about this!" she almost yells at Joel when he goes too far away.

 _Walking from Tommy's house to our home, it's late in the evening, probably like 6:00 or 7:00 pm. I can't tell for sure; I don't wear a wristwatch anymore. The watch that Sarah gave me for my birthday I don't wear anymore, even though that was a reminder of her. But after I almost lost it on a hunting trip a few months ago, I just put it in a box with other important things in my room. Ellie gave me a new one last Christmas, but I told her that I'm going to keep it in my room too, and that maybe I'll use it one day... she understood,_ Joel says to himself.

 _Okay... arriving home, I hope Ellie's here..._ _So I open the the door and enter the house, I call her and close the door and go to the kitchen. Where is she? She's supposed to be here - her job time ended two hours ago,_ says Joel to himself.

 _Then I hear something coming from the backyard, so I walk to the kitchen door and look through the door window. I see Ellie there, hanging her clothes on a cable... seems like she's finished the laundry. I keep watching her for a few minutes and hear something that sounds like her singing,_ Joel smiles. Seeing her a little happy after all she went through... it always feels good to see that she can enjoy a little from life. That's all he can wish for: seeing his little girl happy.

 _Little girl? Funny - can I keeping calling her that? She is sixteen now, she's becoming a young woman. She's now more beautiful… shit, why do I keep thinking about her like that - c`mon, Joel, you're fifty years old and she is just a kid. Ain't she supposed to be like a daughter to you? But why am I still feeling like she's something more_. _What is wrong with me?_ Joel says to himself.

After a few minutes of staring at her, he steps away from the door and starts with the cooking. Then a few minutes later, Ellie enters the kitchen.

"Oh!... Joel, great, you're back - I didn't see you come in, where've you been?" asks Ellie.

"Yeah, I just came from Maria and Tommy's house, and-" Joel is interrupted.

"REALLY! ...did you ask them? ...Did they say yes? When are we going?" Ellie asks enthusiastically.

"Ellie! Ellie! Calm down, okay?" Joel says to her when he grabs her shoulders. "Yes, I talked to Maria about the trip."

"And! ...And! ...C`mon, Joel, just fucking tell me... Pleasssssse!" Ellie pleads in a desperate tone.

"Wow, girl, you need to stop the swearing thing. Young lady, we now live in a civilized place - well, more or less, of course. Anyway… She said that it's okay, but Tommy wasn't there and she needs to consult with him. But I don't think that we're going to have any problems with that. So, Maria told me that they're going to come tomorrow and let me know the decision," explains Joel.

"THAT'S GREAT! Thanks, Joel, that's going to be awesome." Then she throws herself at Joel and gives him a hug, and starts to give him little kisses on the cheek.

"Okay… Okay! Now, I saw that you did you laundry, that's good. So why don't you go clean yourself up and change so I can finish dinner, okay?" says Joel.

"Okay." Then Ellie pulls out of the hug, walks out of the kitchen, and goes upstairs.

After an hour, Ellie returns to the kitchen. Joel has just finished cooking and is putting the plates on the kitchen table. He sees that Ellie is wearing his clothes again; she makes the excuse that all her clothes are outside drying so that's why she's wearing one of his shirts and a pair of his shorts. After they finish dinner, and clean the plates and the kitchen, they both go to the living room and talk for awhile. Two hours after dinner, Joel tells Ellie that it's time to go to bed, and the two of them stand up from the couch and walk upstairs.

"Okay, kiddo, you can go to your room now and get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

"What? ...Joel, I'm not going to sleep with you tonight?" asks Ellie with a sad face.

"No! Ellie, you don't need to do that - since you're not having any more nightmares, I think that you're going to be okay in your room, now," Joel says as he goes to enter his room.

"Joel! I was sleeping well these past two days with you, so why we can't we do that still? What if I start to have the nightmare again?" says Ellie with a pleading face.

"Ellie, I think we've talked about this. You're becoming a young woman now - you don't need to be scared of the nightmares, okay? I know that it's hard and difficult sometimes, but you need to get past that. Nothing is going to happen, and if you just have one, I'm here next door for you, okay?"

"Okay, but at least can you stay with me in the bed, until I fall asleep? Pleasssssse."

"Okay, kiddo, I think I can do that. C`mon, just get on the bed. I'll be here for you." With that, Ellie gets into the bed, and Joel lays beside her, on top of the covers.

"Good night, Joel!"

"Good night, Ellie!"


	11. Chapter 11 : The First Swimming Lesson

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

A/N: I want to thanks, to all the people that is reading this story and left comment, favorite and follow. As this is my first story, I don't know what to expect from the people is reading this, if you liked or not I like to know you opinion on that. The story is almost done on my part, but in here is just get to the half of the story so the post is going to continue until the end, and that is going to be like 20 chapters. So thank you for all your support and for read my story, and a especial thanks to the person that is helping me with the story editing. I Hope that you liked and don't be to much disappointed for the story thanks.

* * *

 **Chapter 11 : The First Swimming Lesson**

Joel wakes up early the next day. He opens his eyes and sees that he's in Ellie's bed again. He leans a little on her side to check if she's still asleep, and she is. Then he gets up from the bed, goes to his room to change his clothes, and goes down to prepare breakfast. He can't believe that he did it again: slept with Ellie in the same bed. Even though he didn't do anything this time, he feels bad. He was supposed to wait until Ellie fell asleep last night, then get off the bed and go to his room. But he didn't; he stayed there all night, just close to her, and for some reason, it feels good.

An hour later, Ellie comes down, already in her working clothes. She enters the kitchen and sits at the table, then looks at Joel and smiles. Him just being there preparing breakfast for her makes her happy. Ellie can't understand yet exactly what she feels right now; all kinds of emotions pass through her mind, but seeing Joel care so much for her makes her stomach feel strange and her heart beat so fast that she can't even understand yet.

"Good morning, Joel!" she says with a smile, then she rests her chin on her hand, as her elbow gives her support on the table. She continues staring at Joel`s back like he is the only thing in the kitchen to watch.

"Oh, good morning, Kiddo!" Joel answers, a little surprised, when he turns his head to look at Ellie at the table.

"So... what's for breakfast today… pancakes?" asks Ellie, still looking at him, after he turns back to work with the food.

"Sorry, Kiddo, but no pancakes today. Just some eggs with ham and bread," Joel answers, seeing the bit of disappointment in Ellie`s face.

"Oh, it's okay. I like your legs too… ahmm... I mean your eggs, yeah, your eggs." _Shit,_ she says to herself with a little blush on her face.

"Ha,ha… girl, you`re a little out of yourself today, and I think you can eat wherever food I put in front of you," Joel says, laughing, now facing her.

"Well, that's because you're a good cook… I think," Ellie says with a smile and a wink. "Well… maybe I can cook for you, one of these days if you want, you know."

"No thanks - last time you tried to cook something for me, I spent a whole week in bed with a stomachache," Joel says, now walking to the table with two plates in his hand, serving the food in front of Ellie and putting the other one for himself as he joins her at the table.

"Well... that's your fault… if you'd teach me how to do it… maybe I can cook better, and maybe I won't have to poison you next time... And besides, I was just trying to make something… special for your birthday, and you never thanked me for that," she says to Joel with her mouth full of food.

"Please, girl... try to swallow your food first, okay? And it's difficult to thank someone when that person makes you throw up for a week," Joel says, trying not to remember all the details.

"Sorry, Joel… bad habit…" Ellie says as she tries to swallow all the food in her mouth.

"It's okay, kiddo... But maybe Maria can teach you how to cook if you want? -and some table manners too, since you continue to forget them," says Joel, smiling and trying to tease her a little.

"Ha...Ha… that's so funny, Joel! But believe me, she already tried. Who do you think was the one who gave me the recipe for that dinner?" Ellie says with a little sarcasm. "And speaking of teaching, do you think that they're going to let us go do the swimming thing?"

"Yes, I think they will - don't worry about that, okay? Just finish your food and get going; you don't want to be late to work," Joel says, eating his own food.

"Okay!... Thanks, Joel!" says Ellie with a smile, while looking at him.

"For what?" Joel asks with a clueless face.

"For everything!" she says, smiling again and lowering her head when she feels the blush in her face start again.

After ten minutes, she finishes the food, stands up from the table, and goes to put the plate and glass in the sink. After she finishes cleaning the dishes, she goes back to where Joel is sitting at the table, leans over and kisses him on the cheek.

"See you later, Joel, and have a good day," Ellie says as she walks to the front door, turning around to see Joel's expression.

"Have a good day too, kiddo!" Joel says, watching her leave the house with a smile on her face.

Joel sits there for a little while, thinking about what to do next while waiting for Tommy and Maria to come to his house and let him know if they are okay with his plans for Ellie. Then he touches his cheek and asks himself, _Why all of a sudden is she kissing me on the cheek a lot? Not that I mind, but she didn't do that before. Sometimes I don't get what is on that girl's mind._

Two hours later, Joel finishes repairing some broken things in the house, then goes to the living room and starts to clean the weapon he's going to use on the trip. After a few minutes, he hears someone knocking on the front door. So he stands up from the couch, walks to the door, and opens it. After he does, Tommy and Maria are in front of him, not with happy faces.

"Hello, Joel, we need to talk," Maria and Tommy say at the same time.

"Yeah, I was waiting for you two. C`mon in." Tommy and Maria enter the house, and Joel guides them to the kitchen. Quickly after, the three of them sit at the table.

"Okay, Joel, Maria told me all about the swimming thing, and even though we think it's a good idea, I don't think that this is the best time for it. It's not secure out there after what happened," Tommy says, looking at Joel and waiting for the usual outburst from him.

"Look, I can understand your concern, brother, but like I said to Maria, the place is way north of the dam, and the infected problem was south of the river," says Joel, trying not to show his frustration.

"Yeah, but it's better to wait until Carl comes back with his people, so that way we can make sure that the whole area is clear of infected - and besides, you're still injured," says Tommy, pointing to his arm.

"Look, my arm is okay, it's not that bad. The nurse said that it wasn't too deep - and we don't know when Carl's going to come back... and after he does, going to check the whole area around the perimeter of the town is going to take at least a few days. I know that you two are in charge of the whole town, and that you're worried, but Ellie's having nightmares again, and I think this is going to be a good distraction for her. I already told her that we're going and she's happy about it - and I promised her that I would teach her how to swim, even before we came here," Joel tries to explain the situation to them.

Tommy and Maria look at each other for a few moments, then look at Joel.

"Okay, you can go with Ellie on your little trip, but with one condition: when you two go up there, stop by the dam first and talk to John - he's in charge of the security there for the next two weeks - ask for a radio, and tell him where you're going and how much time you two are going to be there, okay?" explains Maria.

"Another thing - since we lost four horses this week, we have no horse to spare on you two, so you need to take the big pony we have left. The other two are still too young for you to ride on them," says Tommy.

"Okay, I get that, thanks, no problem - and don't worry too much, little brother, Ellie and I can handle this. Also, these lessons are going to take some time, so I need to take Ellie there several times during the week, too if I can. So she and I need to take a few days off during the week to do so," says Joel.

"Okay, we can arrange that, but we need you back on the wall on Monday, okay? I don't think you'll have any problem with your arm for that, but you're out of any construction project or any handy work for a few weeks," says Maria.

"Okay, and thanks for letting me do this for her. I know that this is going to help her," says Joel, extending his hand to Tommy.

"No problem Joel, we want to help the best we can. Now that all this is settled, we need to talk about this problem Albert and you have," says Tommy.

"Shit… bro, this again?" says Joel now with an angry face, and hitting the table with his hands.

"Yes, Joel, this again. I know that you don't like the guy, but you must understand that he has a job to do here like everyone else. Since you work on the wall, too, he's practically your boss after me and Maria. That's why all of this between you and him has to be resolved, okay?" says Tommy, pointing at Joel.

"It's not my fault that he's just an incompetent moron, and an asshole. I wouldn't have any problem with him if he'd just get off my back," says Joel, standing up from the table and going to the fridge.

"Joel! We all have problems, and we know that sometimes he's a pain in the ass, but he does a great job keeping the peace here. Many people like him and respect him - that's why he has this job," says Maria, standing up from the table, too.

"Yeah, if you say so... He's been trying to get rid of Ellie and me since we arrived here, and you want me to trust this guy? Really?" asks Joel, taking a bottle of milk and starting to drink.

"You don't need to trust him, and I see that you don't trust many other people here either, bro, but you need to understand that we all have a rule here, okay? We try to have something special, something that we lost a long time ago. I know that it's difficult for you to adapt, that you lived out there, and had to do things to survive. But you ain't out there any more, and you have to start to think about that young girl you have now," says Tommy, putting one of his hands on Joel's shoulder.

"He hasn't always been like this; after his wife died, he changed, but he's still doing his job and taking care of his kid, too. He's just trying to keep the people here safe, like we do," says Maria.

"Look, sorry if the guy lost his wife, but that doesn't mean that he has to be an asshole. And his kid is no better, either," answers Joel, moving away from Tommy.

"Are you joking? You've been an asshole since Sarah- Shit, Joel... I didn't mean to say that," says Tommy with a sad face, then apologetic.

"Look, I know that you had a hard time out there, and that you just came here to help Ellie and give her a better life. And in some ways, I admire you for that… just try to do what he says and don't pick a fight with him all the time… that's all I ask, okay?" says Maria.

"I'll try!" says Joel. Then Maria and Tommy give him a hard look before going to the front door.

"I promise!" Joel says, trying to sound more convincing.

With that, he says goodbye to them and closes the door so he can go back to finish cleaning the weapons.

 ***Later in the afternoon with Ellie***

Ellie works at the farm again today; just like yesterday, she goes and attends the animals and after that, she goes to attend the ponies. It's 2:00 in the afternoon and Ellie is almost finished with the ponies when Jenna arrives.

"Hi girl, are you finished?" asks Jenna as soon as she enters the stables.

"Oh, wassup! Jenna, you're a little early, I'm suppose to get out at 3:00pm, remember?"

"Yeah, but since my mother let me out early, I decided to come get you and go to eat something."

"Well, okay, think I'm finished here so I'm going to ask Mr. Torres if I can go early today. Not much work with all the horses out," says Ellie when she walks out of the stables and looks for Mr. Torres.

"Señor Torres!... Señor Torres!" Ellie calls just in front of a little shed where the animal food is stored.

"Si Ellie todo bien?" says Victor, turning around and looking at Ellie.

"Sorry, I don't get that, Señor.," Ellie answers.

"Oh, lo siento, always forget, are you finish with the ponies? O necesitas algo? Y por favor llámame Victor."

"No!... I mean yes I finished, and I wanted to ask you if I can leave early? Okay, maybe I can try to speak a little Spanish now. My... amiga… vino a...buscarme para… comer, puedo irme antes?" says Ellie, speaking in Spanish.

"Ha, ha, that is very good, girl. Okay, puedes irte, oh I mean yes, you can go and thank you, see you next week then," answers Victor, and giving a little smile to Ellie.

"Okay thanks, see you next week and say goodbye to Toby," says Ellie, walking out of the little shed, grabbing Jenna's arm, and leaving with her.

"Okay, let's go, girl," says Jenna, then she lets go of Ellie's hand and puts her arm around Ellie's shoulders. "Do you understand when he talks in Spanish?"

"Not much. I think I need to ask Joel to teach me more Spanish words. But his son taught me some, and I've been working here for a long time so I get used to it. So where are we going?" asks Ellie.

"Oh… well, I don't have any place in mind, but… we can go to the cafeteria. There's not many people there at this time, and that way we can have lunch, too," says Jenna.

After half an hour, the two girls arrive at the cafeteria, sit at a table, and order something to eat. They start to talk about the discussion that Ellie had with Joel; of course, Ellie doesn't want to talk much about that. Jenna sees that this is getting Ellie a little upset so she changes the subject. After that, both girls fall silent for a few moments.

"Sooo... How is your old man, I heard that he got injured out there?" asks Jenna.

"Please, don't call him that, he's not that old," says Ellie, trying to defend Joel.

"Ha,Ha… Ellie, I don't mean that he's an old man… like super old! What I mean... is just, okay, forget it. How is he?" asks Jenna again.

"He's okay, I guess… he can't move his arm much, and can't work either for a few days, but besides that he's fine, thanks for asking," answers Ellie now with a sad face.

"Look, Ellie, I know that you've been acting weird the past few days. I didn't want to ask you anything, but it's time that you spit that out?" says Jenna to Ellie, getting a little curious.

"Spit what out?" asks Ellie, a little surprised.

"C`mon girl, I know that you have some interest in someone, so you`re going to tell me or I'll have to start to guess? And you know that I'm going to find out who he is sooner or later, because there's not many guys our age here or that you talk with. So I think that it's not going to take much time," says Jenna, smiling.

"I'm not seeing anyone… I swear!" Ellie says with a worried face.

"Okay then - Guessing it is!... So I know it's not Brad, because we work with him and I should know by now. So that's one less... it's not Toby either because he's just fifteen and I don't think he's old enough for you," Jenna says, laughing.

"Please stop, I'm not going to tell you anything, okay, so don't waste your time trying to guess who he is," says Ellie.

"Ohhhh… So you do admit that there's someone you like. Okay, so can it be Marlon? He's eighteen but I think that he likes you. I've seen him looking at you sometimes when he comes to the greenhouse."

 _Fuck - I need to get out of here soon. Jenna is my best friend but I don't want her to find out about the Joel thing. I don't know what she's going to think of me if I tell her that I have feelings for Joel,_ Ellie tells herself.

Ellie seems like she's lost in thought, while Jenna continues mentioning names. But Ellie just wants an excuse to get away from there without Jenna getting more suspicious.

"Okay, Ellie, I'm running out of candidates our age, so that means that it has to be someone older. Oh, maybe it's that Dylan guy, he goes to your house a lot, and he's just twenty-five, I think."

"WHAT?... Look, maybe this is a little fun for you right now, but I need to go. I'm going on a trip with Joel tomorrow - he's going to teach me how to swim. And we need to get up first thing in the morning, so," says Ellie, finish the food and standing up from the table.

"What? You and... Mr. Miller are going out there, after what just happened a few days ago?" asks Jenna, grabbing Ellie's arm and looking at her with a worried expression.

"Yep!... don't worry, we're going to be fine, okay - we're always fine when we're together, so see you later... bye," says Ellie, shaking off Jenna's hand and smiling, then she starts to walk out of the cafeteria at a quick pace.

Jenna just stays there for a while, watching Ellie leave the place, whistling happily and without looking back.

 _She always acts weird when she talks about... Joel. Wait a minute... Shit! Ellie… don't tell me it's... him?_ Jenna says to herself, then she finishes her food too and walks out of the place.

 _I walk around town like an hour before I have to get home. I can't stop thinking about what Jenna is going to think of me if she finds out that the person I'm falling in love with is Joel,_ Ellie is thinking about the possibility of that happening. _Fuck! She probably won't talk to me again, and she'll probably go and tell her mother or Tommy and Maria. What's going to happen to us? Well, maybe just me, because Joel didn't do anything... yet. Well, he touched my butt last night... And what the fuck was that, anyway?! He does one thing and later, he doesn't even want to sleep with me in the bed... in the end he finally does, but he doesn't touch me at all. This is a little confusing now... okay, I'd better get home, it's almost 5:00pm and I want to know if Tommy gave him permission to take me out to that place._

After thinking for a while, Ellie arrives home and finds Joel in the kitchen preparing the things they need for the trip. She enters the kitchen and gets behind him, puts one hand on his shoulder and kisses him on his cheek, then goes to sit at the table. A little surprised, he starts to explain to Ellie that Tommy and Maria will let them go to the place - with some conditions, of course. Ellie doesn't mind; she just gets up from the table and gives Joel a big long hug. Joel tells her to go and get her backpack and prepare the things she needs. After that, they go to eat and clean up and go to bed. Ellie insists again that she wants to sleep with Joel in the bed, but he insists that he's only going to stay in her room until she falls asleep. Of course, Ellie isn't happy about it.

 ***The Next day in the morning***

The light of the sun in the early morning wakes Ellie up. _Fuck! I had another dream about Joel - lucky for me it seems that Joel didn't sleep in the room last night,_ Ellie says to herself.

"Ellie, hurry up, kiddo, we need to eat something before we get going," yells Joel from downstairs.

"I'm coming," answers Ellie. _Jesus, Joel, what's the hurry? It's still early in the morning, we have all day for this. Wow, now that I think about this, I'm going to have Joel all to myself the entire day… Yes._

When she finishes getting ready, Ellie comes down and goes to the kitchen. Joel is there preparing breakfast like he always does. He puts the plate of food in front of her and tells her to eat quick because he told Dylan to go and tell Mr. Torres to prepare the horse. At first, she thinks that the guy is going to come with them. But when Joel sees her angry face, he quickly tells her that he came by earlier in the morning to say hi and that's when he asked him for the favor.

After they finish eating, they take their backpack and weapons. Ellie takes a 9mm and her mother's pocketknife; Joel takes his magnum, a shotgun, and a hunter knife. _Damn... Joel, I thought that you were going to take me to swim, not to hunt,_ Ellie thinks. Then they go to the stables where Dylan is there waiting for them. Joel signals for the horse and tells Mr. Torres that he has permission to go out all day. After all that is checked, Joel thanks Dylan for the help and they go on their way.

After half an hour, they're on the road heading to the dam. Joel tells her that they need to go and check in with John and tell him where they're going to be and for how long. When they arrive at the dam, Joel talks to the guy, who gives Joel a radio and tells him that he needs to call him every two hours to let him know that everything's okay, and inform him if they see anything suspicious out there.

After they depart from the dam, Joel doesn't say much, so Ellie decides to break the ice. She grabs him tightly around the waist, and lays her head against his back. _Shit, he feels so good, and warm,_ Ellie says to herself, with a smile.

"Hey… Joel, how long is it going to take to get there?" asks Ellie, moving her head from Joel`s back, looking at him.

"Not much longer, kiddo, it's just like 20 minutes more, okay?" answers Joel, keeping his face turned toward the front.

"How did you find that place? Did you go there before? Is it a nice place or is the water too deep?" Ellie continues with the questions.

"Kiddo, you're going to see for yourself soon, okay? You just need to relax. This is going to be fun, and learning how to swim is going to be good for you. Sorry I didn't do this before, but when I discovered this place it was a little after winter, and believe me, you don't want to go swimming in cold water," Joel says with a smile.

After 20 minutes, they arrive at the place. _Wow, Joel was right, this place is wonderful - no civilization, no human contact here,_ Ellie thinks. It's a little lake, with a small cascade in the end with the mountain. On the other side of the lake are some trees around that lead to the forest, some big rocks along the border of the lake, and some beautiful flowers, too. Joel tells her that the lake is part of the river that feeds the dam. After Ellie finishes admiring the view, they dismount the horse and take out their backpacks and the other things they brought.

"Okay, kiddo, I'm just going to take the horse and tie it on those trees over there - you take our things and go close to those flat big rocks over there."

"Okay, Joel… Wow this place is beautiful… maybe after I learn to swim we can come here just to spend the day," says Ellie, moving to the lake shore.

Then she puts their things on the rock and goes close to the water. She kneels and touches the water with one hand, to check if it's cold. Even though it's a little cold, it's summer and a sunny day, so by afternoon, the water will be okay. After a few minutes, Joel comes back… _shit. He's just wearing a white sleeveless t-shirt and green shorts. Wow, he seems so sexy!_ Ellie tells herself.

"Okay, Ellie, you can go and change over there, in those bushes," Joel says to Ellie while he points out the place.

"Ellie!" Joel says again but with a stronger voice.

"What?" Ellie says as she snaps out of dreamland and shakes her head.

"Change! ...bush!" says Joel, trying to make some sense of the girl in front of him.

"Oh... yeah, right. I'll be right back, thanks," Ellie says and goes quickly to the bushes to change, but still not getting the image of Joel out of her mind.

When Ellie goes to change, Joel gets close to the water and dips his feet in. The water is a little cold, but not too much, and it's a sunny day, so the water's going to be good in no time. A few minutes later, Ellie comes back, wearing a pink tank top and red Lycra shorts. _Damn, girl... where'd you get those Lycra shorts - and I see they're very tight, too...shit, this going to be a long day._ "Okay, kiddo, are you ready?" asks Joel, starting to move deeper into the water.

Ellie just freezes there, so close to the water. She starts to look at Joel and then the water. _I've wanted to do this for a long time and now I just... C`mon Ellie, you can do this, Joel is here to teach you, he's not going to let anything happen to you._

"It's okay, Ellie, you don't need to be afraid... I'm here, remember. I won't take you too deep, okay, this is just the beginning so, I'm just going to start with the basics, everything's going to be fine. You're going to be fine… Ellie, do you trust me?" asks Joel, gesturing with his hand to Ellie to encourage her to come to the water..

"Yes, Joel, I always trust you!" answers Ellie, without any hesitation.

"Okay, I'm just going to turn around so you can jump on my back, okay?" As soon as Joel turns, Ellie jumps on Joel's back and wraps her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck. Then Joel takes his hand and grabs her thighs, and starts to walk into deeper water.

Ellie tightens her legs and arms around Joel's body when he starts to get into deeper water. They're all wet now. Joel moves a little further into the lake until the water goes a little above his chest. Ellie is trembling - not from the cold but just because she's still afraid of the water.

"It's okay, Ellie, you're not going to learn it all in one lesson, this is going to take a few times. But today I'm just going to teach you the basics. Now I`m going to let go of your legs, so now you can let go of me, just slowly, okay?"

"Joel, I … I don't think… I can do this," says Ellie, turning her head away from Joel and looking into the deep water.

"I got you, okay? Just put your legs down and keep your hand on my shoulders. I'm not going to let you go, okay, now you need to trust the water, get down into the water, that's good... see, now you're floating in the water," says Joel, turning around so Ellie is now holding him in the front.

"Joe... please don't let me go?" pleads Ellie, holding on more tightly to Joel's shoulder.

"It's okay, Ellie, you're doing fine. Now I'm going to teach you how to keep floating. Okay, this is some of the basic things you need to know for this. It's called, the wrists stiff to skull, and tread with flutter kick. These ones are going to help you to float. Okay, let's start with the first one," says Joel.

"Okay, Ellie, for this, you need to let go of me-" Joel is interrupted when Ellie moves her hand from his shoulder and grabs his neck tight and closes her eyes. "Ellie, look at me… it's going to be okay? Just do what I tell you and everything is going to be fine, okay?" Joel says as he tries to pull Ellie's arm off his neck.

"Promise?" asks Ellie, now looking at Joel's eyes.

"Yes! I promise, and you said that you trust me, right? So now I need you to let go of me and put your fingers together and start circling your arms like I told you before. I'll hold you until you can do that on your own," Joel instructs her as he puts his hands around Ellie's waist.

Joel and Ellie do all the floating things she needs to do to stay afloat. After two hours, Joel tells her that they need to take a break so he can call John and tell him that everything is okay.

Joel helps Ellie out of the water. As soon as she gets to the shore, she goes where her backpack is and takes out her towel. After she dries off a little, she puts the towel on the flat rock close to the shore of the lake and lies down. Then Joel goes to where he left his backpack and takes the radio out, and another towel. After that, he puts the towel down and sits on the rock close to Ellie, and starts to make the call.

 _Shit… he's still wet and now I can see through his white t-shirt... I can see the muscles on his chest and abdomen - wow, for a fifty-year-old, he's still in good shape. He has muscle in his arm too and- fuck! Why do I start to feel so warm on the inside, damn… just thinking about Joel like that makes me feel so hot! Maybe I can use that later at night. Okay, enough of that, Joel's almost finished with the call and I need to change my thoughts to another subject, before he starts looking at me and thinks that I'm weird... well, MORE weird,_ Ellie tells herself, still looking at Joel.

"Okay, thanks, I'll call you again in four hours… Why? Because we're going to be in the water and I can't call from there, that's why… shit, I know what Tommy told you, but we're fine here, and we don't see anybody out here, so I'll call you in four hours or if something comes up, okay?" Joel turns off the radio and stands up, taking the towel with him, then sits beside Ellie on the flat rock, a little upset now.

"Can you believe that? Fuck,I know that my brother is trying to help, but why he thinks that we need a babysitter… shit!" says Joel, looking to the water and trying not to get too upset.

"Yeah, we can take care of ourselves, and besides, there's no sign that anyone's been here in a long time," says Ellie, standing on her knees and starting to get close to Joel. "Hey, I haven't seen your injury without the bandages... looks very serious," Ellie says as soon as she gets close to Joel and starts to touch it.

"Oh! Yeah, I have to take off the bandages. The nurse said that I can't get that wet or it's going to get infected," Joel explains, as he watches Ellie check the wound and touch his arm.

"Infected? Joel, if there's a chance of your wound getting infected, maybe it's better-" Ellie is interrupted.

"Relax, kiddo, the nurse gave me something for that, so it's okay." Joel sees that when Ellie is touching the wound, closer now, that she's getting a little sad. "Look, it's now afternoon, so why don't we just take a break and have some lunch, okay?" says Joel.

"Okay, that sounds good." _Damn, how does he know what time it is - I don't see that he brought a watch?_ Ellie asks herself.

Joel gets up, goes to his backpack, and takes out the food. When he gets back, he gives Ellie one of the sandwiches he brought, and a bottle of juice, then sits beside her again.

"You did great for your first lesson!" Joel tells her after taking a bite of the sandwich.

"Do you really think so?"asks Ellie, smiling at Joel.

"Yeah, you did. I'm proud of you. I think that you're going to learn how to do it in no time," Joel answers.

"Thanks, I thought it was going to be more difficult. Eh… Joel, can I ask you something?" asks Ellie, while taking another bite from her sandwich.

"Of course, kiddo! What do you want to know?" says Joel, taking a sip from his juice bottle.

"Did you teach your daughter how to swim?" asks Ellie, but then she sees that Joel stays quiet. "Sorry, I don't mean to bring your daughter up."

"No!... It's okay, it don't bother me much talking about Sarah now. But if you really want to know, yes, Tommy and me started to teach her when she was six years old. We took her to a public swimming pool in town. She learned fast - I think that it's easier to learn things when you're younger," Joel starts to tell Ellie with a slightly sad expression.

Ellie and Joel talk and eat for a little more than an hour. In one way, Joel is happy that Ellie is having a good time; he hasn't seen her laugh so hard in a long time, and that's good. When they finish, Joel takes Ellie back to the water to practice some more and to teach her other things.

"Okay, now with the flutter kick, you're going to do the same thing you did with your arms but now you're going to use your feet too, okay? Now I'm going to let you go, like I did before, okay. When I do that, you just start to move your feet back and forth, and don't forget to move your hands around, okay?" Joel explains, as he holds on to Ellie again, so she can have some kind of support.

They pass the rest of the four hours practicing all the forms of floating, and Ellie starts to get the hang of it. After that, Joel tells Ellie that it's enough for the day; it's getting late and they need to get going back. Ellie grabs Joel around the neck and mounts his back, then Joel grabs her thighs and starts walking to the shore of the little lake. She's laughing and telling Joel that he would make a good horse. When they get out of the water, Joel drops Ellie back in and starts to laugh.

"You ass!" Ellie says to Joel and starts to stand up out of the water.

"Okay, let's get dried off, and change - I'll call that stupid guy from the dam and tell him that we're finished and we'll be coming down soon," says Joel.

Then Ellie bends down in front of him to get her towel and backpack. Since Ellie's tank top is a little large for her, Joel gets a shock when he sees Ellie's breasts. Quickly he turns around, and goes to get his things, too. After half an hour they're both changed and dry, then Joel goes to get the horse. When he comes back, he mounts the horse and gives Ellie a hand; she takes the hand and mounts the horse behind Joel.

"Okay, kiddo, this was good for the first lesson, you did great," says Joel as he starts guiding the horse back to the dam.

"Thank you, Joel, this was one of the best days in my life, and I can't wait for the second lesson," Ellie says, putting her arms around Joel's waist and pressing herself hard into his back. She closes her eyes and smiles.

Joel feels Ellie press on his back. _Shit… I can feel her breasts on me… she didn't wear any bra - is she doing this on purpose? Fuck! This is going to be a long way back, and I'm going to need a long cold shower when we get back home,_ Joel thinks to himself.


	12. Ch 12 : Confession of The Secret Love

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

* * *

 **Chapter 12 : Confession of The Secret Love**

 ***Next day with Joel***

Joel is standing inside the bathtub, his head under the shower and the water hitting his face. _Shit!... the water is cold, but maybe that way I can get her out of my mind. Yesterday at the lake... I- I saw her breasts! And not only that, I could feel them on my back when she hugged me all the way to town. Why is all this happening again? I haven't been thinking like this since that night. When I found Ellie, a month before her birthday, in the bedroom, doing... Shit, all that is coming back to my mind again._

(a month before Ellie's birthday)

It was late at night when Joel came back to the house from the dam. He'd told Ellie in the morning that he was going to be working at the dam. Tommy had asked him because they needed a handy job done there that was going to take a day or maybe two. He told Ellie that he would probably stay there all night and that he'd return in the morning the next day. She didn't like that much, but made no protest.

Joel finished early, so he came back that night. He left his working things in the kitchen and went upstairs. When he was almost at the top, he heard something strange. It was like some kind of sound coming from his bedroom. He quickly walked to the room, and saw that the door was partially open. Then he heard the sound again. It was like someone panting and moaning, and when he got in front of the room, he saw her: it was Ellie, completely naked in the bed. The light was off, but there was a full moon that night so the room was illuminated a little by the moonlight. He just stayed there, without knowing what to do, just watching.

He could see Ellie's naked body; she had her eyes closed, one hand on one of her breasts and the other between her legs. She had her legs spread a little, and he could see that she had her finger inside. She was moving her hand, up and down and her finger in and out… he could see her face a little - and the expression on it. Her mouth was partially open, and he could see her lips moving slowly, like she was whispering something, a name... but he couldn't hear who… _who? Is she masturbating, thinking about someone? but who?... I didn't know she was seeing someone… is she?_

 _I don't know what's wrong with me... that was Ellie touching herself in the bed, and I just froze._ He just kept watching, when Ellie started to moan louder as she continued masturbating. She was moving her hand faster, and started to moan a little louder... and he could hear her breathing becoming more erratic. Then he heard a little scream; she bit her lips just to hold back a louder scream when she had her orgasm. After she finished, she just stayed there in the bed… he could see a smile on her face like she was happy. _Shit, I had to get out of there, lucky she didn't see me!_ So Joel went downstairs to get his things and get out of the house. He didn't want her to find out that he was there, so he spent the night out. He went to one of the abandoned houses and stayed there until the morning came. He knew that she was going to be sixteen soon, that she was becoming more of an adult, and her hormones were going to be more active now. He decided that she needed to have her own room - that way, she could have more privacy, so he was going to give that to her for her birthday.

 _Shit!... just remembering that made me hard again - I need to take care of that before going to work. I need to think about someone else, but I haven't had any sex since...Tess. She and I were good in bed, but ain't it wrong thinking about her, knowing that she's dead?_ He started to move his hand faster... _Fuck! Joel, just focus, think about something? I need to release soon or I'll go crazy Ahhhrrrrrrr… Shit!_ All he could see in his mind was a red-haired girl with green eyes. _Fuck!... I'd better get out and dry off, put some clothes on and go to work. Maybe that will be a good distraction. What time is it?... Shit! It's almost 10:00am, I have to be on guard at that time._

After Joel finishes, he goes to his room and puts some clothes on, along with a clean bandage. He has to change that every day. Ellie even offered herself to clean and disinfect the other bandages; they don't have many of them so they need to recycle. He is heading downstairs when he hears someone knocking on the door. "I'm coming!" he says, then walks to the door and opens it.

"Hey, kid!... What are you doing here? Ain't you supposed to be at your post?" Joel asks.

"Yes!" Dylan answers. "I was assigned to the front gate today, but Carl`s group arrived half an hour ago. After that, Tommy called us and asked me to come to your house and inform you that they're going to have a meeting with Carl in an hour at his house, and he wants us to be there."

"Well, that's good news. If Carl`s group came back, that means that we have new supplies, then? So do you know why Tommy wants us there?" Joel asks.

"Not sure, but I think that maybe something happened on the trade trip or it's something about our little trip outside," answers Dylan.

"Okay, give me a minute. Hey, what about my shift on the wall?" asks Joel.

"Well, that's covered - Tommy said that he's going to send someone else," answers Dylan.

"I'll leave a note for Ellie just in case she comes back home before I do."

"By the way, how was your trip with Ellie? Did she learn anything?"

"Man, she is amazing. Ellie learned more in one day than Sarah did in a week when I was teaching her... well, she was younger then."

"Sarah?"

"Oh... right! Sarah was my daughter before all this shit happened… She died the first day," Joel answers with a sad expression.

"Oh man, sorry, I don't… mean for-" Dylan is interrupted.

"No! It's okay, I just don't like to talk about her too much, and that was a long time ago, anyway,"

says Joel.

"Well, I'm glad that you had a good time with Ellie after all that happened this week," says Dylan.

"Thanks... okay, I'm ready, let's go," Joel says as soon as they start to leave the house.

 ***Later in the greenhouse with Ellie***

Claudia assigned Ellie to collect and clean some vegetables, and she did that almost the whole morning. Claudia and Brad went to the other part of the greenhouse, so they left her alone there. She hasn't seen Jenna since arriving at work. She asked Claudia but she only told her that she had something to do and that she didn't know when she was going to come. _Shit! I hope she's not mad at me after she insisted on knowing who the guy is that I'm in love with, and I left in a hurry after I finished my food._

And thinking of Joel, yesterday was one of the best days Ellie had had in a long time. Not only was the place beautiful, but being there with Joel all day was incredible. _Wow, every time he touched me, I felt like a wave of electricity run through my whole body. And when we were on the rocks, I could see his chest through his t-shirt... and when I touched his arm, wow. I felt so hot inside, I don't know what that was, but I don't think that was because of the sunny day._

On the way back to town, Ellie held onto him like she never wanted to be apart from him again. He didn't let her sleep in his bed again, and he didn't come to her bed, either. _But I think it was for the best... after the great time we had at the lake, I couldn't control myself and last night just thinking about Joel all wet and touching me... Fuck! I had the best orgasm I've had since that night a month before my birthday, it was the first time I thought of Joel like he was touching me and kissing me, seems like a long time-_

"Was`up girl?… in dreamland again?" Ellie jumps in panic as soon as she hears the voice of Jenna when she enters the room.

"Jenna!... Wow, you scared the hell out of me - where have you been? I haven't seen you all morning," Ellie asks, standing up.

"Oh... I had to do some private thing, and then I asked my Mom if I can go to help with the new supplies," Jenna answers.

"Oh, right, I heard that they arrived today, that's cool. I'll have to go to the store later to see what new stuff they brought this time," says Ellie.

"Yeah, we can do that after work... speaking of work, where are Mom and Brad?" Jenna asks.

"They went to the other part of the greenhouse, to work with the medicinal plants that grow on that side," answers Ellie.

"Oh! Cool, so we're alone here… that's great. Sooo.. how did it go with Mr. Miller- I mean your swimming lesson yesterday?" Jenna asks, getting close to where Ellie is working with the plants.

"Oh! Yeah… that was great, the place was something else, and I learned a lot, and-"

"Did you kiss him?" asks Jenna, now in front of Ellie, with a curious face.

"WHAT?" Ellie says a little loud, with a surprised expression on her face.

"I'm asking you if you kissed him on the mouth, when you were out there with him," Jenna says again, waiting for Ellie to say something.

"No!... and I don't know why you would say something like that. And why would I kiss Joel on the mouth?" says Ellie and tries to move away from Jenna.

"Because you love him!... Ellie, I know it's him, you don't need to hide that from me anymore, okay?" says Jenna, grabbing Ellie by the arm.

"Love him?... Jenna, I don't know what you're talking about," says Ellie, trying to get away again.

"Ellie, I know that he's the one you're in love with... Well, if I can call it that, because I think that he might be too old for you," says Jenna, and then she lets go of Ellie's arm.

Ellie just stays there, looking at Jenna, not knowing what to say… waiting to see what Jenna will think of her now. _How did she find out? Is she ever going to talk to me again? What if she tells her mom or Maria?_ Ellie asks herself all these questions.

"Jenna, I… what makes you… think that?" she asks her, trying to see if she's just joking, or guessing.

"Ellie, I'm not stupid, or blind. I don't know how I didn't see that before, but now it all makes sense. I see how you two act together, and how your eyes spark every time you talk about him, and I bet that it's him you're thinking about when you're in dreamland. But are you sure about this? I know that you two went through a lot together to get here, and that maybe you just have a crush on him. I know that this happens to some girls your age, that he's all-"

"Jenna, you don't understand, and I know that you - or anyone else here - are not going to approve of this. But it's not a crush or something like that… I love him. Maybe I didn't know at first... sometimes I think I have some other kind of feelings. But after yesterday, I'm sure that I love Joel," she says to Jenna.

"Are you sure of this, Ellie? I don't want to sound stupid, but do you know what it means to love a person? Have you ever loved someone before, or kissed?" asks Jenna.

"Yes, I think. I had someone special before I met Joel, I maybe was in love with that person... I'm not sure, because after we shared our first kiss, I lost that person. It was hard for me, but I know that this is different - what I feel for Joel is more real, I don't care if he is kind of an old man. He's the only person that understands me, and makes me feel wanted. Maybe you don't understand, but being close to him makes me happy, like I don't need anybody else," Ellie says nervously.

"Okay, I see, so you're sure that this is what you really want?" Jenna asks, with sympathetic eyes.

"Yes! I'm very sure. I love him more than you can imagine. I can't stop thinking of him, or being scared that something will happen to him and I'll never see him again or be by his side. Look, you're my best friend, practically the only one I have here. I don't want to lose that, but if you don't want to talk to me again because of this, I'll understand. But please don't tell anyone about this... I don't care much what happens to me, but I don't want the people here to think or do something to him because I fell in love with him. I don't want them to treat him like he's a pervert or something like that," Ellie says to Jenna and then goes to sit in a chair close by.

"Okay, so you said that you love him, but what about him - does he love you back? Or is it just you?"

"I know that he feels some kind of love for me, and that-"

"So you`re not sure that he has the same feelings for you? Have you considered that maybe he just loves you like a daughter?" asks Jenna, sitting in another chair close to hers.

"Yeah, I thought about that when I tried to figure out what I feel for Joel, and I think that maybe he did have some love for me like that at first on our journey. He told me about his daughter and how she died. So I thought at first that he kept me around because I was just a reminder of his daughter, but all that changed when we came here. I saw the way he looks at me sometimes... he didn't say anything, but it was different, like he sees me more like a young woman, I think, not as his daughter. I know that you think he's too old for me, that he's just some old pervert that likes young girls, but he's not like that. Maybe he doesn't like people much, and sometimes he acts like an ass, but all he does is protect me and I know that he's never going to do anything to hurt me."

"Ellie, I'm not going to judge. If you love him that much, it's not my place to tell you otherwise. I'm your friend and the only thing I want is for you to be happy. From all that you've told me, I think that you deserve that. I just want to be sure that this is what you really want. I don't want to see you get hurt because of all this… maybe you love him, but what if he doesn't feel the same way you do?" says Jenna.

"I think he does, but maybe he thinks that he's too old for me. But I don't think that he's too old - I don't see him like that. I heard that the people in the old world thought that this kind of love was wrong, that an old man can't fall in love with a teenage girl. But the world we live in now… it's not the same anymore. So why do people have to think that now? There's no law anymore. All we have now is one another."

"Ellie... I'm not against that. I see the way you two are. Maybe I don't know him, but you do, and if the two of you want to love each other, I don't have any objection to that. But you need to think about the other people that live in here - many of them are from the old world, and things like this don't seem right to them. I can see now how much you love him, but my question is, does he love you back, like that?"

"I don't care what people are going to think… But I'm a little scared that they're going to do something to him... So you don't mind if Joel and me get together?" Ellie asks her, trying to see her expression.

"Well, I`m not very happy about it, but if he can make you happy, I'm okay with that," says Jenna.

"Okay, so that means… that you're not going to stop being my friend then?" Ellie asks her shyly.

"Don`t worry about that, Ellie, I still want to be your friend. I'd even like to help you out on this. I just wish that you would trust me more next time, okay?" says Jenna, smiling.

"Really!... Wow, that's great, thanks - so how do I make him admit that he loves me back?" Ellie asks.

"Did you ask him? Or he knows that you love him like that?" says Jenna.

"Are you fucking kidding me? I can't ask him that, what if something goes wrong, or-"

"Ellie, if you don't want to ask directly, I understand… but I think it's the best way to know if he does. Okay, then I need to know if he's given you any kind of signs or anything that suggests that he loves you like that?" Jenna asks.

"Well, I'm not sure if this is a sign, I already told you about the look he gives me sometimes and that he hugs me very close to him, sometimes when we sleep together, and a few days ago he caressed my legs and even touched my butt and kissed my neck, too. So I don't think that he sees me like his daughter when we're sleeping together," Ellie explains to her, waiting for her reaction to the information.

"Wow!... wow!... Wait a minute, have you two been sleeping together? Are you having sex with him? I thought that you didn't know if he was in love with you?!" Jenna asks with wide-open eyes, confused.

"Of course not - fuck, I don't even know if that last part I told you is real… well, not that I don't want Joel to do that... I mean, I dream a lot about that now. And when I touch myself, sometimes it feels so real that I can't tell the difference… I don't know, it just feels so good. Not just the sex part, but all the things about being with him... is that normal?" Ellie tries to explain, with a curious tone.

"Yeah, that's your hormones talking, and I think that at your age, it's perfectly normal. Well, not sure about you having fantasies about an old man. But I know now why you want to do that, so that's why I need to ask you if you`re a virgin?" says Jenna, looking at Ellie.

"Please don't say that Joel is an old man… well, he's just fifty, and I don't think he's too old. And if you mean that I never had sex with a man, then yes, I think I am. Do you think that's going to be a problem?" asks Ellie.

"Does he know that you are?" asks Jenna.

"Of course not... well, I don't know... we don't talk about that. He tried to talk to me about that, a few days before my birthday... you know, about sex and all of that. But I think he doesn't know how to do that. I think that he thought that I had a boyfriend or something… Fuck! What if he thinks that?"

"Well, if you said that he's been touching you in some ways, that means that he doesn't think that you have a boyfriend or that you're like a daughter to him. I hope for that because I don't want this to be weirder for you."

"I don't think it's weird that two people love each other, no matter their age. I don't know why people look at things like that."

"Well, Ellie, sometimes old people just want to stay in the old ways; they think that at that time, the world was a better place," says Jenna. "Okay, so the plan is to make Joel confess that he has feelings for you, correct?"

"Yes, I think that's the general plan, and-" Ellie stops talking when she hears a voice coming from the entrance.

"Jenna!... Ellie! Are you two finished back there?" asks Claudia as soon as she enters that part of the greenhouse.

"Shit! It's your mom - do you think that she heard something?" asks Ellie, whispering.

"I don't think so, but just in case, act cool, okay?" says Jenna in a low voice.

"Okay!" Ellie answers.

"Yes, Mom!... We're almost finished back here," answers Jenna to her mom.

"Okay, good, because I have another job for you two, so come to the front part when you're finished," says Claudia.

"Okay, Mom!" Jenna answers back. "Shit, my mom is going to kill me if she finds out that I helped you with all this," says Jenna to Ellie, sounding a little scared.

"Yeah, sorry for involving you in all this... so thanks for the help, and I hope that this doesn't cause you any problems," says Ellie.

"It's okay, no problem, let's just finish with the work and we can plan something tomorrow, okay?" says Jenna.

"Okay!" answers Ellie, and with that, they go back to finish the work.

 ***In Tommy's house a little earlier***

When Dylan and Joel arrive at Tommy's house, Joel knocks on the door several times. After a few moments, Maria opens the door and lets them in. She informs them that Carl has not arrived yet, then Maria tells them that Tommy is in the little office they have in the house, waiting for them. So Joel and Dylan proceed to the room to talk to Tommy there.

"Hello, little brother," Joel says as soon as he and Dylan enter the room.

"Dylan, Joel, I`m glad that you came in time… please sit. Carl, Scott, and Albert will be here in a moment. I'll talk to Carl as soon as he arrives, and-"

"Damn, if Albert's going to be here, why'd you ask me to come?" says Joel, standing up from the chair.

"Joel, please sit. I think we talked about this already - he runs some of the security here, so he needs to be here," Tommy says.

"Jesus, Tommy, I hope that he doesn't start to be an ass, because I swear I'm going to punch him in the face," answers Joel after he sits down again. After that, Carl and the other man arrive.

"Hello, gentlemen," says Carl as soon as he enters the room.

"Welcome back, Carl. Please sit," says Tommy, indicating for all of them to sit around the conference table.

"Tommy, if all this is about the security of the town, what the hell are these two doing here?" says Albert, which earns him a bad look from Joel.

"Albert, can you take it easy for a while? They have something to contribute on what we're going to discuss here. So do Harold and Bob, but since Harold's still in the clinic and Bob is on today's patrol, Joel and Dylan are the only two here that were part of the incident with the infected. So we'll get to that soon - now I want Carl to give his report of what happened on the trade trip," says Tommy, indicating for Carl to proceed with the information.

"Okay, gentlemen, I spoke with Tommy and Maria about why we came back so late. I want to inform you that I have some bad news: after we arrived at Rock Springs Colony, we found the place was attacked and destroyed. We don't know if the ones who attacked them were hunters., but there was a lot of dead infected in there. We don't know when that attack occurred, or if they went to another place or got looted by scavengers after that happened. But they didn't leave anything behind. That means that we lost the trade post, so after that, we had to move more south, to Colorado, to see if we can find something else," explains Carl to the group in Tommy office.

"Why!... There's nothing in Colorado - that's a ghost state, just full of infected and hunters," says Albert.

"Yeah, you're right - since the Fireflies abandoned the university there, most of the state is plagued with infected and bandits. That's where we were attacked. We followed the highway 25 through Denver and a group of bandits ambushed us in the city. We managed to escape, but we lost one of the Jeeps, and three men. The truck was damaged in the fight, so we took the 70 state and found a gas station, and stopped there to repair the truck.

"After two days there, we continued on the 70 through the mountains, trying to find something. Then we took the 24 south and got to Buena vista. There, we found some people that were fighting some infected in a small motel. We helped them kill the infected, and they told us that they came from a colony that is on the east of Monte Vista town… the city is close to the border of New Mexico. Took us two days to get there."

"So what about this colony - they want to trade with us? Can we trust them?" asks Tommy.

"Yeah, I think so, we spent three days there. It's a small part in the east of the city... they closed that part to protect them from infected or bandits, not many people there... I would say like 100 or 120. The town is completely surrounded by the desert, but has some big mountains on the west, small ones on the east after the desert part, and more desert and some mountains on the south. All that area was a natural preserve in the old days, so they're well-protected by the desert - not much way to attack that place without seeing them coming, so it's difficult to get attacked by hunters or bandits. They have some vehicles, but they're low on food. Not much to hunt in the desert," Carl continues to explain.

"Well, if they don't have much, why are we going to try to make trade with them - seems like they don't have much to offer," says Albert.

"Yes, that's true, but they have something that we don't have much of," says Scott.

"Yeah? And what is that?" asks Albert.

"Medicine!... All kinds of medical supplies. They found a big pharmacy close to the mountain, so that's going to be good for us. Especially if we lost our old trade village - there's no other town close that we know of to trade with now, so we need one. We talked with the person in charge there, his name is Antonio. He says that he's from Texas. He moved to Colorado after the QZ in Texas fell, found some people in the Monte vista town, and started to build a small wall around a small place close to the town, to live and make a new home. He says that his people are willing to make any arrangements to do trading with us," says Carl.

"Well, that sounds good - we're going to need another place to trade now, and as soon as possible," says Tommy, putting his hands together.

"I don't want to sound too pessimistic, but that place is way too far south of here. Even with vehicles, it's going to take days or weeks to make the trade with them. Not to mention the fuel

we're going to need for that," says Albert.

"Well, that's true, we're going to need a lot of gas for this, but they told us where we can get a lot of gas. We just need to get rid of some infected," says Scott.

"Anyway, from what I can see, we don't have much choice here, do we? I think that if Carl says that it's safe to make a deal with these people, we need to consider it. And besides, we need the medical supplies,"Joel says.

"What the hell do you know, Miller? We're going to trust some new people that we don't know about? They could be hunters, or worse."

"What the fuck are you protesting for - you haven't even been there!" yells Joel, standing up.

"Okay, that's enough!" says Tommy, punching the table hard. "We're going to discuss this in a town meeting as soon as we can, but right now, we have another issue to attend to," says Tommy.

"Jesus Christ… You two still fighting?" says Carl, smiling.

"So both of you can sit down now," Tommy says, pointing to the two men now. "Okay, Carl, like I told you this morning, we have a problem that we need to resolve as soon as possible. Harold`s patrol was attacked almost a week ago by infected close to the south river. We lost a man and four horses; when the survivors returned, they told us that Harold was still out there. So Joel, Dylan, and Bob went to find Harold, and discovered some old building, way south past the river, full of infected. They found Harold and brought him back, but now we need to check that place to see if there's any more infected in there, or the surrounding areas. Because if more infected are coming back into the forest after we cleaned out this whole area, we're going to have some problems with the hunting parties, or any trip outside the town," Tommy explains to him.

"So you want me to handle that?" Carl asks, putting his hands together.

"Yes, you're the most experienced here for that. I know that you just came back, but I want you and your group to go there to check that place out," says Tommy.

"Okay, but we need a few days to rest, and I don't want to sound heartless, but since I lost three men in this, I will need new ones to replace them," says Carl, standing up.

"Thanks, Carl, I'll tell Maria to check on that. You and your men can go and have some free time and rest. I'll talk to you tomorrow to discuss this further and make amends for the people you lost," says Tommy, standing up as well and offering his hand to Carl.

Then Tommy dismisses the rest of them and tells them that they will reconvene before they discuss all of this in a town meeting. After that, all of them start to leave.

"Joel!" Tommy says, grabbing his hand. "I need to talk to you alone…"


	13. Chapter 13 : The Second Swimming Lesson

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

* * *

 **Chapter 13 : The Second Swimming Lesson**

I'm taking a shower; the water is a little hot, and wow!... that feels great - after all the time out there without taking a good bath (or if you could, the water was so cold), this is like a dream come true. Then I hear the door open. I still have shampoo in my hair so I can't see who enters. I put my head under the water to rinse the soap out. When I finish, I feel a hand on my shoulder and a whisper in my ear. " _I hope that you're not finished yet, because we need to conserve the hot water."_ It was him, oh I love when he sneaks into the shower with me. I turn around to see his face and that sexy beard of his... oh God, even at his age, he's still a handsome man. I put my hand on his shoulder and look down... " _well, sexy boy, I can see that you're happy to see me."_ Then he tilts my chin up with one hand and makes me look directly into his eyes. " _I'll always be happy to see you, you`re the most beautiful thing that's happened to me in a long time."_ Then I put my arm around his neck and pull his head down to mine and kiss him. He puts his arm around my waist and pulls me closer to him. I deepen the kiss as I feel him completely, just like a dream come true. Then he lowers his hands and grabs my butt cheek... wow, that feels so good, then I break the kiss to get some air. He quickly lowers his head and goes for my neck, sucking that vein like he's a vampire from one of those old movies we watched back in the QZ. Then he lifts up one of my legs, pulls me up a little, ohhh fuck! In a quick move he is inside of me, oh God if the kiss felt good, this feels even better. He starts to move and I feel like I'm in heaven, if that place exists, it has to be incredible. He leaves my neck and goes again for my lips, he kisses me again more passionately this time, he starts to move faster, oh fuck, I don't think that I can take that for too long, I feel like I'm going to explode. Then he breaks the kiss, so now I'm looking him in the eyes, and before he finishes, I ask, " _Joel do you love me…"_

RrrrrrrrRrrrrrrr….

 _Fuck! The alarm clock… It was a dream… again._ She talks to herself with her eyes closed, then Ellie opens her eyes and she's in her room, without Joel; he hasn't slept with her since the swimming lesson. After she confessed to Jenna that she loves Joel, she's been having more of these dreams than before, and that was three days ago. The past three days have been busy here as that Carl guy returned with new supplies; everyone here has been really occupied. After Monday, Joel told her that the trip to the lake would have to be postponed until Sunday, because the town is going to give respect for the dead men on the trade trip. They even bring the body so that they can have a proper funeral, and Joel said that one of them was married and that his wife is pregnant… _shit, that sucks._

For the past three days, Ellie went to do her work. After Monday, it was her turn in the clinic. She helped the doc with the inventory on the new medical supplies that the traders brought to town. Since the nurse was attending someone at home, the doctor gave her some more lessons in medicine for an hour. After finishing in the clinic, she passed a little time with Jenna. They continued to talk, and she told her more things about her and Joel. Of course, not everything - she couldn't tell her about the reason they left Boston, and about her immunity. Sometimes she feels guilty, not being able to tell her about that, but she promised Maria and Tommy that nobody would know about her condition. They talked for awhile and later came back home. The other two days were a little crazy - Joel told her that Tommy is going to send that Carl guy to the place where they found Harold, and that Dylan and the Indian guy are going with them. Joel doesn't like that very much and he wants to go too, but even though his arm is better, Tommy won't let him go with them. He told him that he needs him here for the moment. _Good, now I think that I like Tommy more for that._

 _So today is Friday; I'm going to the farm today... I wish that it could be Sunday already, just thinking of spending another day alone with Joel, it makes me feel… happy._ Jenna told Ellie yesterday that she wants Ellie to go with her after work to the store to buy something, that it was going to be fun and that they could find something they could use to help with the Joel situation. Ellie didn't know what she meant by that.

 _Well, I'd better go to work before I'm late - lucky for me I don't have to be in the clinic so early today._ Joel had left her a note again, telling her that he had to go to his shift on the wall early today, and that he didn't want to wake her up so that's why he left the note. He said that he left her something special to eat in the kitchen. _That was nice of him so maybe I can forgive him for leaving me the note. Damn, I hate when he leaves me notes, for some reason I'm scared that one day I'm just going to find a note telling me that he's gone._ So she finishes dressing and goes downstairs to the kitchen and starts to eat. _Wow, he made pancakes again - my favorite - now I know that he feels guilty._ When she finishes, she cleans the dishes and starts to go out to work. _But somehow I have to do something about those dreams. Jenna said that it's normal, but they're making me crazy! Jenna told me that if I need some advice on that, that it's better if I go talk to someone more adult, so maybe it's better if I ask Maria... yeah, maybe I can do that later. Okay, now I need to go to work before I get there late._

 ***A little earlier in the morning with Joel***

Joel is watching the forest beyond the wall, starting his shift early in the morning to compensate for the time he didn't work. His arm is better now, so he feels the urgency to do something to distract his mind. _For some reason, I can't get Ellie out of my mind now, so I need a little time to think about all this... it's not like I don't want to spend more time with her - I love that, and I think that's part of the problem. She is intelligent and more mature, way beyond her years... she's fun sometimes, and she's becoming more beautiful every day._ _Shit, Joel! What is wrong with you, you're supposed to take care of her, make sure she's safe and happy, not fall in love with her-_

"Hey partner, come early this morning, eh? Glad that you feel better," says Dylan, climbing up the watchtower.

"Hey kid, I think you're the one that's a little late this morning," answers Joel.

"Yeah, we stayed late in Carl`s house discussing the plan for the trip back to that place tomorrow. It's a shame that you can't come with us," says Dylan.

"Yeah... even though I want to go, Tommy thinks that it's a good idea to stay here. He wants me to rest the arm a little longer," says Joel.

"Ha, ha, that's a good one, but we know that the real reason is that Ellie's going to kill you if you go out without her again," says Dylan, laughing.

"Yeah, that could be true, that girl is something else," says Joel with a smile.

"So you going to take her out again for another swimming lesson this Sunday?" asks Dylan.

"Yeah! She's a fast learner, so I think that in a few weeks she's going to be able to swim well."

"Well, that's great, man, and I think that that girl and you need a little break. So how is Harold - I heard that you go to the clinic every day to visit him?" asks Dylan.

"Yeah, the doc said that he's going to recover, that he only needs a few weeks more in the clinic before he can go home again. But he's going to need a walking stick for the rest of his life."

"Shit - and how is he taking that?" asks Dylan.

"Well, he told me that he can still help in town, while he can still shoot. He said that he can work on the wall, the gates, or do other things that don't involve riding or running," says Joel.

"Damn... that dude has spirit, I think that's a good thing for him," says Dylan.

 ***Later afternoon with Ellie***

Ellie is at the farm, finished with her job. She goes to the little office that Mr. Torres has close to the stables to inform him that she's going to leave a little early today because she has something important to do.

"Hello!...hola Sr. Torres? Esta aqui?" asks Ellie as soon as she enters the little office.

"Estoy en el cuarto de atrás," answers Victor, then Ellie walks to the little room in the back where Victor keeps all his paperwork.

"Todo bien Ellie? Necesitas algo?" Victor asks while moving some boxes.

"No, everything's fine, I just came here to tell you that I finished and that I need to get out early."

"Oh, okay… solo recuerda cerrar las puertas del establo," says Victor.

"Okay, no problemo… gracias… see you la proxima semana," says Ellie.

"Veo que estás aprendiendo espanol, that is good Ellie you are una chica especial."

After that, she goes to the stables and closes the doors. Then she goes to sit on a barrel close to the building; now she's just waiting for Jenna to come so they can go to the store.

"Hey girl... catch!" says Jenna, throwing an apple to Ellie.

"An apple!... Thanks," says Ellie, taking a bite of it.

"Yeah, we harvested new fresh ones today, and I thought that you could use a snack. So you're ready to go?"

"Yeah, I finished my work here for today and I told Mr. Torres that I need to get out half an hour early, so let's get going then," Ellie answers.

As soon as Ellie gets up from the barrel, the two girls leave the farm and start to walk through the street all the way to the store.

" So... how is everything with Joel? Any progress?" asks Jenna.

"Not really... I don't know… ever since we came back from the swimming lesson, I think that Joel's been avoiding me again. Not as much as before, but he tries to not be too close to me, and then I'm having all those dreams about him again."

"Well, as some of Joel's mind still lives in the old days, it's going to be hard for him to try to have any romantic feelings for you," says Jenna.

"Yeah, I know, but I just want him to realize how much I love him. I mean like a man, not as a father figure. Why does this have to be so hard?" asks Ellie with a sad expression.

"Sometimes it's hard for boys our age to express those feelings, so for Joel it's going to be even harder," says Jenna.

"Thanks! That makes me feel better," says Ellie with a sarcastic tone, but then she looks at Jenna again and says to her, "Thanks," more serious this time.

"For what?" asks Jenna, clueless.

"For trying to help me and not thinking that I'm just a crazy girl that's in love with a man that could be my father - also for calling him Joel and not Mr. Miller," says Ellie.

"Ellie, I just want to see you happy, and if he can make you happy, it's okay by me… just promise me that when all this comes out, don't tell my mom that I helped you, okay?"

"Okay, promise," says Ellie.

"That will be good, I don't want my mom to kill me if all of this works out, and she find out that I helped you. C'mon now, we're arriving at the store," says Jenna as she grabs Ellie's hand and pulls her into the store.

"What do you want to buy, anyway? I don't see anything interesting from the last trip," says Ellie.

"Oh… it's a surprise. Hello, Mary, do you have the book I asked for yesterday?" Jenna asks as soon as she gets to the counter.

"A book? Since when do you buy books? 'Cause I remember you hate reading," says Ellie, getting close to Jenna.

"Here's your book, miss," says Mary, giving the book to Jenna.

"Great, thanks! Here's the payment for the other things, too," says Jenna, giving her the payment ticket.

"The other things you asked for are in the back of that room," says Mary, pointing to the room.

"Okay, thanks - here, Ellie, this is for you," says Jenna, giving the book to Ellie.

Ellie takes the book that is wrapped in old newspaper, proceeds to unwrap it, and when she finishes, Jenna can see Ellie's expression.

"What the fuck!... Are you serious… oh my god… it's a joke book, and not just any joke book but the No Pun Intended: Volume Three by Will Livingston. Shit, Jenna, where'd you get this?"

"One of Carl's guys found them on the last trip. I told Mary the name of the book and told her that when Carl goes out again, to tell one of the guys to look for the book, and tell him that if he found one, I would pay well for it. He brought the book yesterday and Mary told me," explains Jenna to Ellie with a smile.

"Wow! I don't know what... to say… I have the volume two of this book… when I left Boston with Joel two years ago… I just… this brings back some memories," Ellie says now with some tears in her eyes, hugging Jenna. "Thank you."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't want to make you sad," says Jenna, hugging her back.

"Sad? Are you fucking kidding?... this is the most awesome gift ever, I'm just too happy for it and surprised that you even remember this," says Ellie, breaking the hug and wiping some tears from her eyes.

"Of course I remember - you`re like a sister to me. I'm glad that you like that one, so let's go to find the second one," says Jenna, grabbing Ellie`s hand.

"Second one… what do you mean?" asks Ellie curiously.

"Ahh... C`mon, you don't want to ruin the surprise, and I think that this one maybe can help you a

little with Joel," says Jenna, dragging Ellie to the back room of the store and laughing.

Jenna and Ellie spend the rest of the afternoon together, until it's time for Ellie to return home. When she arrives at the house, Joel is already preparing dinner. She looks at him with a smile and hides the bag behind her back.

"Hi Joel... Mmmm... that smells good," she says to Joel.

"Thanks! So... dinner is going to be ready in an hour. Why don't you go ahead and take a shower and change? Dinner will be ready by then," says Joel.

"Okay!" says Ellie, then runs upstairs and enters her room.

After she bathes, she comes down and sits at the kitchen table, wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of Joel's shorts. Joel looks at her but doesn't say anything, and puts the plates on the table. They talk a little about what they did during the day. After they're finished eating, Ellie takes the plates, puts them in the sink, and starts washing them. Joel goes to the couch, sits there, and closes his eyes. When Ellie finishes, she goes to the couch too and sits beside Joel. She reclines her head on the arm of the couch and puts her feet in Joel's lap. Joel opens his eyes and looks at her.

"Hey, kiddo, what are you doing," Joel asks, looking at her in surprise.

"I'm a little tired," Ellie answers.

"Well, I'm tired too, but you don't see me putting my feet in your lap, right?" Joel answers her sarcastically.

"Fuck, Joel! If you do that, you'll crush me for sure," says Ellie, laughing.

"Ha, funny. If you're tired, why don't you go to bed then?" Joel asks her with mock annoyance.

"I'm not _that_ tired - besides, I have something that can cheer you up and relax you, hear this?" says Ellie, taking out the little book and starting to read.

" _Why was the toilet paper rolling down the mountain?_

 _To get to the..._ _bottom._

"Ha,ha,ha, here is another one?

" _The guests in this hotel are always stealing all the soaps, shower gels, and shampoos from their rooms._

 _Dirty bastards!"_

"Ellie?" says Joel now with his eyes fully opened.

"Wait, wait, here's another one," she says, now laughing.

" _Little Johnny: 'Mom, can I get a dog at Christmas, please?'_

 _Mother: 'No, you'll be getting turkey, like every year!'_

"Do you get it, dog… turkey… eating… you know..? Isn't that funny?" she says, laughing.

"No really!... Ellie, you do know that people have to eat dog sometimes now, right?" Joel says now with a serious expression.

"Oh shit... right, not so funny then," says Ellie, flipping through some pages of the book.

"Ellie, what the hell is that? Is that a joke book?" asks Joel, taking the book from Ellie's hand.

Ellie looks at Joel's expression. "Yeah, Jenna gave it to me this afternoon, isn't that incredible? I had one of these when we left Boston, remember?" she asks Joel, taking the book back.

"Yeah, I remember that... you opened that book every time you felt bored."

"Yeah, that was good times, but the best part of this is that this one is volume three, so that means new jokes," Ellie says, looking on the pages so she can read more jokes.

"Good times? You call all that good times?" asks Joel, incredulous.

"Yeah, you and me against the world: endure and survive, remember?"

"Whatever you say, kiddo," Joel says, putting his head on the back of the couch and close his eyes.

"Okay, you want to hear more?" asks Ellie, smiling.

"Sure, kiddo, but after that, you're going to bed, okay?" says Joel, still with his eyes closed.

" _Would you like to hear a construction joke?_

 _Well I'm still_ _working on it._

" _Why is there music coming out of your printer?_

" _That will be_ _the paper jamming again!"_

"Okay, Ellie, enough with the jokes, I'm glad that you have that book, but it's time to go to bed."

"Joel, can I sleep in your bed tonight?" Ellie asks with a sad face.

"Sorry, but no!" Joel says with a firm voice.

"Fuck! Joel, you know how to take the fun out of everything," Ellie says disappointing.

 ***Sunday in the morning***

Ellie wakes up with a little smile on her face, because it's Sunday and today she's going to have Joel all to herself again. Not much happened on Saturday; except for Tommy sending that guy Carl and his group to the forest, yesterday was another regular day. Joel went to work on the wall, and Ellie went to the farm, not talking to Jenna since they were busy all day in the greenhouse.

But now they're on the way to the dam. Fortunately, Joel convinced Tommy to talk with the guy at the dam so that they don't have to call every hour to report if they are good up there. So now they only need to report in on the way up and down. Joel also promised to keep the radio close and call if they encountered or saw something irregular up there.

"Hey, Joel, why is it taking so long to get to the dam?" Ellie asks from behind Joel.

"Well, kiddo, since Carl`s group took all the adult horses, that Victor guy from the stables just gave us a younger horse this time. Was the only one left that we can ride, and since we're both on the same horse that makes him slower," answers Joel.

"Okay, great, maybe we can kill the time… too soon?" Ellie says, laughing and taking the joke book out of her backpack.

"Oh shit!... girl, you going to use that again? I think that once a week is enough," Joel says, trying to give Ellie a hard look.

"C`mon, Joel, there's some real good ones in here," Ellie says and starts to read.

" _Apparently taking a day off is not something you should do when you work for a calendar company._

" _Dracula didn't have many friends because he was a real pain in the neck._

" _What did the sea say to the sand? Nothing, it simply waved."_

"Jesus, girl, that's not even funny - by the way, have you even see the sea?" Joel says.

"Nope!... but here's another one," answers Ellie.

" _Toilet paper plays an important role in my life._

" _What did the fish say when it hit its head on a wall?_

 _Dam!"_

"Shit, this trip is going to be a long one," says Joel, trying to not look at Ellie.

"Oh, c`mon, Joel where is your sense of humor?"

"Well, you just killed… oh, too soon?" says Joel, laughing.

After awhile, they arrive at the dam. Joel reports to the guy in charge and tells him that he's going to call him a little later that afternoon and on the way down. Then they go up the hill all the way to the little lake. When they arrive, it's like the previous time, quiet and peaceful since nobody comes here. _You can just feel the breeze and some birds singing... man, this place is so beautiful, it's so great spending all day here._

Then they dismount and Joel takes the horse to the same spot as before, and after that, they put the backpacks on the same rock, close to the lake like they did last time. Then Joel goes to the bushes and changes. When he comes back, he is wearing the same clothes as before: the white sleeveless t-shirt and black short pants. He tells Ellie to go change, then gets in the water. She just stays there and waits until he turns around and goes a little further in the water. She starts to take her clothes off, pulling up her t-shirt and proceeding to take her pants off, too. Then she stands on the shore of the lake waiting for Joel to turn around again. When Joel gets in the water up to his chest, he turns around.

 _I didn't know what Joel was going to think, but when I saw the expression on his face, that was priceless. Fuck! His mouth was open and he was looking at me like he's never ever seen me before. Score,_ Ellie thinks. "So… what do you think?"

"Ellie!... What the fuck… are you wearing?" Joel asks with a surprised face.

"Well... it's a swimsuit, you dummy, what do you think it is? Jen- I mean, Mary said that people used them for swimming in the old days," Ellie tries to explain to Joel with a smile on her face.

"That ain't a swimming suit?... It's… it's a bikini! Where did you find something like that?" says Joel, trying to look Ellie in the face.

"So!... Isn't that for the same thing?" asks Ellie. "And I bought it in the store yesterday. Since Mary said that it was used for swimming, I thought it was cool."

 _Well, maybe he thinks that it's my underwear - I thought that at first when Jenna gave it to me. It's a red two-piece that looks like a bra and panties... Jenna said that women in the old times used to go swim at the beach to look sexy,_ Ellie thinks to herself.

"Ellie, I don't think… that this is very… appropriate for a... swimming lesson," Joel says to Ellie but his mind is in another place.

"I don't know what the problem is - you don't like it?" says Ellie, not understanding what is happening to Joel.

"It's not that I don't... like… that. Did you bring something else that you can wear?" Joel asks.

"No! Joel, I didn't bring something else, because I thought that this would be fine. But if you don't like it, I can take it off and you can teach me how to swim naked!" Ellie says, a little frustrated that her plan is starting to backfire on her now.

"No!...no no it's okay, that's not going to be- you know what, forget that I said anything. What you're wearing is fine… let's just go and start this thing, we don't have all day, okay?" Joel says to Ellie and starts to get deeper into the water, thanking God that the water is covering his lower part.

"Okay, Joel, just don't go too deep... I'm still not very sure on going too deep into the water," says Ellie, entering the water now.

"You're going to do okay, kiddo, you already learned how to stay floating, and that's the hard part, so now I will show you how to float over the water, and the basics you need to swim, okay?" Joel explains.

"Okay, that sounds good," says Ellie, getting close to Joel now.

Ellie reaches Joel, but as the water gets deeper and she starts to go under, she puts her hand on Joel's shoulder and gets close to him. Joel quickly tries to get Ellie off of him; since Ellie's body is touching him, he doesn't think he's going to resist much - even the slightly cold water isn't helping.

"Okay, what I need you to do now is relax a little, okay, now I'm going to put my hand on your back, so you can lift up your feet - it's the same as you do when you go to sleep, okay?" Joel directs her.

"Joel, if I do that, I can't move my feet and I'm going to drown," says Ellie, getting a little concerned.

"No! You won't - remember that I'm here and I'm not going to let that happen, okay?"

"Joel, I'm just... getting scared," says Ellie.

"It's okay, kiddo, I'm going to put my hand under you, so that way you can't go under, okay? Now that's it, you're doing fine, kiddo," Joel says, trying to give Ellie more confidence.

"Okay, that's fine, you're doing great, kiddo, now extend your arm to the side, that's it... great, just try to stay still," says Joel, getting a little nervous when one of his hands is practically touching her butt.

Ellie closes her eyes and tries to relax, but the the way she feels when Joel's hand is touching her body, especially her butt, is not helping. But Joel doesn't feel any better, looking at Ellie's body in front of him now. He can't help but think how much she's grown up in just a year, now looking more like a young woman... now he sees her belly button, her leg, her arm, and her face. She has some little scars on parts of her body, but she still looks so beautiful; even the bite mark on her arm has almost disappeared, now looking more like a burn mark.

Joel continues teaching her how to float and move her legs around for a couple of hours, until she gets a little tired so he decides to take a break. Since he already has his hand on Ellie's back, he decides to carry her out of the water. Of course, Ellie doesn't make any protest; she loves having Joel close to her, especially like that. He puts Ellie down as soon as they get out of the water. Ellie goes to get a towel from her backpack. Joel goes to his backpack and pulls out his towel and the radio; he still needs to call the guy in charge at the dam. After he makes the call, Joel takes a couple of sandwiches and gives one to Ellie. They go and sit on the rock and start to eat their lunch.

After they eat, Ellie takes the towel, puts it on the flat rock, and lays down on it to get dry and rest. She takes out her joke book and starts to read; she asks Joel if he wants to hear some of them, but Joel quickly declines the offer, so now she just reads to herself. She starts to move her leg back and forth while she's reading the book. Joel is sitting a little bit away from her, but still looking at her. He doesn't want to admit that she looks great in that bikini... he doesn't want to think like that, so he turns his head toward the lake, trying to get the image out of his mind. After he turns away, Ellie turns her head toward where Joel is sitting, looking at him, trying to check out his body... _even as an old man, he seems firm - still has muscles and a strong body, he's still a handsome man, too..._

"Joel, are you okay?" asks Ellie, trying to figure out what Joel is thinking.

"Yeah, kiddo, I'm fine, we'll just rest for a while and continue with the second part of the lesson, okay?"

"Okay," Ellie says and goes back to the book and starting to laugh by herself. _I'm looking at him again and he is facing the lake again. I know that he doesn't want to say anything, but I think that he likes the swimming suit._

After two hours of rest, Joel and Ellie get back into the water, so Joel can start with the other parts of the lesson.

"Okay, Ellie, now we're going to do some vertical bobbing - that's going to teach you how to start to hold your breath under the water, okay? Now, you'll stay close to me and go under the water for 5 seconds," Joel instructs Ellie.

They do that for half an hour and start with other things: Joel teaches Ellie how to kick in the water for another hour, and then he grabs Ellie and puts her in the floating position, but this time with her belly touching the water. He's touching her again... one of his hands is now close to her breast and the other on her leg, to try to support her. The touch of Joel's hands sends shivers up and down her spine; she has to make an effort not to moan at that moment.

"Okay, now we're going to work with the arms and the kicking. Now put your arms in front, and when I tell you, move your arms in circles like if you're paddling a boat. Okay now, that's good, you're doing great, kiddo, now start kicking," Joel continues with that for one more hour.

"Okay, Kiddo, you did great today, but it's time to go now, it's getting late," says Joel, moving Ellie out of the water. "Okay, I'm going to get the horse and change. You get your towel and dry off and put your clothes on, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay," answers Ellie and goes to get her things.

After ten minutes, Joel comes back with the horse; they mount up and start to head down the hill to get back home.

"Joel?"

"Yes, kiddo."

"Thank you, I had a wonderful day, and thanks for teaching me - it was fun, too."

"You`re welcome, kiddo, it's been fun for me, too," says Joel.

"Joel?" she says again and puts her arms around Joel's waist, pressing her head against Joel`s back.

"Yes!" says Joel again.

"Do you like my swimming suit?" asks Ellie.

"…..!" Joel doesn't say anything.

"Joel?"

"Yes! Ellie… I liked it."

 _Score,_ Ellie says to herself, pressing her body into Joel's back and smiling.

 _Shit!... this girl is going to kill me one day, and this is going to be another long way home… Fuck! I could use a drink right now,_ says Joel to himself.

They continue on the path towards the dam. After they disappear through the forest trees, a man is looking at them from far away with some binoculars.


	14. CH 14 Love Advice from Family and Friend

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

 **A/N:** Because I can`t answer to a guest review, I going to answer, in here to the guest (jematu85) and to anyone that have the same question. I'm sorry if some of the people that is reading this story are a little disappointing, that you think that this is a love story and is not. But I never say it was a love story, I just put in the A/N that this is a story where Ellie and Joel have some kind of relationship, that is not like father and daughter. Yes I put that they are going to have some romance in there, but as I change the plot of the story a little to put more action on it. So the romance part is going to take more time to go inthere, but the story is not over get so just keep reading, so thanks for reading.

* * *

 **Chapter 14 : Love Advice from Family and Friend**

 ***Next day afternoon with Joel***

 _What is wrong with that girl, shit, I don't know what she was thinking, but almost gave me a heart attack when she took off her clothes. Shit! I'm not going to deny that she looked so beautiful in that bikini, man, I had to stop myself from going and grabbing her and kissing her right there. What this girl is doing to me, I'm not suppose to feel… love for her? But sometimes I can't help myself, I just… sometimes feel that she's the only thing that is important to me. I know that I had some feelings for her before, but now this is something different, something more... Shit- have to stop thinking like that about her, all of this is not supposed to happen. She is just a teenager, and I'm supposed to take care of her and protect her. Thinking about Ellie like that just ain't right... fuck, not even drinking now makes me stop thinking about her, and she's been acting so strange lately. I know that she got a little scared when I had to go find Harold, but why she wants to be closer to me… I don't know what is going on in that girl's mind or mine_ \- Joel gets interrupted from his thoughts.

"Hey! Miller, are you okay?" asks Paul.

"What?" Joel answers, now looking at the guy in front of him.

"I asked if you're okay? You've been here for a while, talking to yourself, and what are you doing here, anyway? Aren't you supposed to be working? l don't want any problems with Tommy if he finds you here today. And you've been here for an hour, without saying anything, just drinking, and that's going to scare the customers," says Paul.

"Well… what I'm doing here is none of your fucking business - who are you, my babysitter? So why don't you go to the counter and bring me another one of this shit that you call beer, this thing don't even get a person drunk. Why don't you just find someone that can make good liquor, maybe you'll get more customers with that," answers Joel, angered.

"Well, since this is my bar, I have the obligation to check on the customer, especially when they come this early in the day to get drunk and cause trouble. I have to maintain the order in here. I don't want any trouble with Tommy or Maria, and I think that you've already drank too much of this," says Paul, starting to take the empty bottles off the table.

"What the… fuck!... Drunk! I only drank six of this shit and I'm not even dizzy, and by the way, ain't this supposed to be a bar, where people come to drink?" says Joel, taking the last gulp of the beer in his hand.

"Like I told you before, I don't want any trouble with Tommy or Maria, okay? The last time someone came here at this hour and started to make trouble, Maria closed my bar for two weeks. I don't want that to happen again, so maybe it's time for you to go," says Paul, trying to take the empty bottle from Joel's hand.

"It's okay, Paul, bring two specials with you. I'll handle this, thanks," Tommy says as he pulls a chair out and sits at the table.

"Okay, Tommy, I'll be right back," says Paul, taking the last bottle from Joel and going behind the counter.

"Hey!... little Brother, what are you doing here - ain't you supposed to be taking care of the town? Or is your wife? Sometimes I can't tell who is the boss here," Joel says sarcastically.

"Ha, ha, very funny, Joel, you never were much of a comedian, and what the fuck are you doing here? Are you getting drunk?" Tommy asks with a serious tone.

"Drunk! with this shit?... and what makes you think that, and besides, this thing that Paul calls beer can't make anyone drunk just from drinking a few bottles," answers Joel, irritated.

"Did something happen between you and Ellie again?" asks Tommy with a low voice now.

"What!... no, why do you ask that?" Joel says, a little nervous.

"Well… because the last time you came here to get drunk was a month before Ellie`s birthday, and you were a little upset or something. It was like you and Ellie had an argument or some kind of fight. I thought that the swimming lessons were a way to make your relationship with Ellie better," says Tommy.

"You don't have to worry about that; Ellie and I are fine and the swimming lessons are going great. That girl is learning so fast that after a couple more lessons, she's not going to have any more problems swimming," says Joel proudly.

"Okay, I'm glad to hear that. So if everything's okay, why did you come here to drink at this time?" asks Tommy curiously.

"What!... a man can't get a little drink in this town? I just have a lot on my mind and I need to clear my head, but this shit ain't working... man, what I wouldn't do right now to have some bottles of whiskey," says Joel, smiling a little.

"Okay, here you go, two specials," says Paul, putting two mugs on the table and leaving the two brothers alone.

"What the hell is this?" asks Joel.

"Coffee - it's a special recipe that's going to take some of the alcohol out of your system," says Tommy.

"I already told you that I'm not drunk, brother, even if I wanted to be," says Joel.

"Well, just drink it, Joel, because Carl called this morning, saying that he and his group are coming back before sunset. So I need you to be in your right mind for the meeting report," says Tommy, putting one hand on Joel's shoulder.

"Yeah, speaking of that, you shouldn't have sent Dylan on that mission. He's a good young man, but I don't think that he's ready to be out there. You should send me instead," says Joel.

"Well… I'm glad that you want to help your new friend; I can see now that you're making more than one friend. But if I sent you there, I'm pretty sure that Ellie would have killed me. And trying to piss off Ellie more now... I don't think that's going to be good for you either," says Tommy, smiling.

"Yeah, Ellie's a great girl, but I don't understand what happens in that head of hers. Sometimes she acts like a little girl and others like a grown woman. And that scares me sometimes, but I'm glad that she hasn't had any nightmares for the last two weeks," says Joel, drinking the coffee.

"Joel, I know that taking care of a teen girl ain't easy. I know how hard that was for you before with Sar- sorry, I don't mean... anyway, I know that you're doing the best you can with Ellie, but sometimes it's better if you have some help… hey, are you even listening to what I'm trying to say?"

"Shit! You call this coffee? Tastes worse than the beer, and what do you mean I need help? I know that I can count on you and Maria if I need any help. And besides, I think that I'm doing a good job so far. She's still alive, ain't she? Look, I know that sometimes we have our differences, but I think we're okay so far, so I don't think that I need any help, okay?" says Joel, a little irritated.

"You know what you need, brother? A woman! Yeah, just go find someone and have a good fuck!" says Tommy, winking.

Phhfffffff...

"...What?" says Joel after he spits out the coffee he had in his mouth.

"Yeah, bro, you know... find someone, have a little sex, and maybe you can connect with that person, and who knows, maybe you'll fall in love and you can have someone to help you with Ellie, like a mother figure for her. You know, there's some single women in this town that you can check out," Tommy says, now taking a sip of the coffee.

"Oh… C`mon, you're going to start with that again? Fuck! I don't need any woman to take care of Ellie. You tried that last year and that didn't go well, remember?" says Joel, irritated.

"Yeah, that's because you told the poor woman that Ellie was going to kill her if she found out that the two of you were dating. But maybe it'll work out this time, if you try to be more… how do I say this... less like you! By the way, when was the last time you had sex, huh?" asks Tommy.

"Shit, what is wrong with you? I can't believe that you're really asking me that, little brother?"

"Yeah!... Look, maybe I can help you with that. There are a few single women close to your age in here... what about Claudia? I think she's close to your age, and she's a friend of Ellie's so you won't have any problems with her and Ellie... or what about Rose? Well, she's thirty-eight, I think... she's a little younger than you, but these days, who cares about that, and I saw how she was looking at you when you were in the clinic - I think she likes you," Tommy tries to convince Joel.

"Seriously, brother, I don't think that I need you to hook me up with someone, or any romantic advice from you," says Joel, standing up from the table.

"Oh, c`mon, Joel, I'm not talking about marriage right away- just… you know, have a little fun, and I think you need some sex too, but who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and find someone you like. And maybe in the process, you can get some kind of a mother for Ellie," Tommy insists, following Joel to the front door of the bar.

"Jesus, Tommy, I don't need to find a mother for Ellie… because I'm not her father, okay? So why don't you just drop the subject, because it's starting to piss me off, okay?" says Joel, stopping now in front of Tommy, looking mad.

"Fine!... fine… damn, Joel, I'm just trying to help," says Tommy with his hands up. "I reckon that your relationship with Ellie is a little out of the ordinary, and that you're just trying to protect her and take care of her. But you must think a little of what she needs right now, you know."

 _Yeah, I`m thinking of that all the time,_ says Joel to himself as soon as he steps out of the bar.

"Shit, it's getting cloudy… hope that Carl`s group comes back before it starts to rain. C`mon, let's get back to my house. I need to talk to you about the meeting with the town people for next week, before they come back," says Tommy, gesturing for Joel to follow him.

"Yeah, sure, but if you start talking about my sex life or the need of a woman again, I will punch you in the face - did you get that, little brother?" says Joel, following him.

"Yeah, whatever you say, big brother. I still just think that you need to get laid - maybe that way you'll stop being such an ass," Tommy says, laughing a little, and continues walking to Tommy`s house.

 ***A little earlier in the morning with Ellie***

It's Monday, so Ellie is working in the greenhouse today. The harvest has been good this year, but hunting is getting a little difficult, due to the lack of animals in the forest. So the hunting group has to travel farther away from town to find more animals to eat. They still have some animals that they can eat at the farm, but Maria said that it's better if they conserve those for the winter. So the vegetables and fruit are more plentiful in the diet lately; luckily for the town, Claudia and her group are doing a good job on providing enough food for the townspeople.

Ellie is watering the plants now and making sure that they have enough light to grow well. Brad is out sick today, so Claudia is waiting for Billy and Jennifer to go to the field and start to collect the apples and oranges from the trees. They are brother and sister, and come from time to time to help Claudia. Billy is seventeen and his sister is fourteen. They usually come the days Ellie doesn't work there, so Ellie barely sees them. She and Jenna are going to work all day inside the greenhouse. It's getting cloudy outside, so soon it's going to rain. Ellie thinks that will be good for the town, because they haven't had any good rain in the last two months.

"Okay, girl, we have the place to ourselves now - Billy and his sister arrived, and Mom and them just went to the field," says Jenna when she enters the room.

"How long do you think they're going to be there?... Because I think it's going to rain today," says Ellie, standing up from her position.

"Well… I think like three or four hours, if it doesn't rain before that," answers Jenna, getting close to Ellie and grabbing her arm. "Now let's go and sit over there so you can start to tell me how it went for you and him yesterday, okay?"

"You want to talk about that here?" says Ellie, whispering.

"Sure, there's nobody here, my mom isn't going to come back until later in the day, and no one comes here at this hour. So please, I'm dying here to know how it went out there," says Jenna, helping Ellie to sit down close to her.

"Well… I can tell you that not much happened there, even when he saw me in the bathing suit

you gave me… that didn't work very well. He just stared at me but didn't say much. Well, at the end, when we came back, I asked him if he liked the suit and he said yes, so it's not a total bust."

"So he didn't kiss you or say anything to you, after all that?" asks Jenna curiously.

"He did touch me several times when we were in the water, but I don't know if it was intentional or not... he didn't say anything after," Ellie explains.

"So he touched you, where? I mean, he touched you sexually?"

"No!... Well, he touched my boobs and my ass a little, but not in a bad way - not like a perv or something. Joel's not like that. He was nice and gentle when he was teaching me how to swim. I had a good time with him. And even though it wasn't a sexual thing, when he touched me, it still felt good. I know that he doesn't think of me as an adult, that he tries not to look at me in any sexual way... well, at least he doesn't want to show it. But sometimes I want him to, you know, touch me in that way, and see me as a woman. I think sometimes he does, and that is the point of all this, right?"

"Well, at least if he's starting to see you as an adult now, that is something, because if he sees you like that, that means that he doesn't see you like a daughter. Okay, if the bikini didn't work very well, you need to do something else. And if he has some feelings for you, and he doesn't act on that, that means that it's not just physical attraction," explains Jenna.

"Yeah, that's good, but what do I do to make him confess? Because if this continues, I will be twenty or more by the time he says something," Ellie says, nervous now.

"Well, maybe you should do that?" says Jenna

"Do what?"

"Wait! Until you are twenty or more. Look, the problem is that he thinks that you're just a kid and he's an old man. He isn't going to do anything if he's thinking like that. So maybe it's a good thing if you just wait," says Jenna.

"I can't do that - what if something happens to him or me? We're never going to be together or express our feelings? Or what if he finds someone else? I don't want that. I love him… maybe you think I'm too young to understand what love is. But I'm very clear on that now, and I know that he has some feelings for me. I can tell. I think that he's just afraid of what people are going to say or do about that," Elle says sadly.

"Ellie, you can't force him to do something he doesn't want to do. I just don't want to see you suffer if this doesn't work out," says Jenna, putting a hand on Ellie's shoulder.

"I'm not forcing anything, I just want him to admit that he has some feelings for me - I know he does. You said you were going to help me. So if you don't want to do that now, maybe it's better that you forget all this, and I'll try to do this by myself," says Ellie, standing up, some tears almost spilling from her eyes.

"Ellie, wait!... I didn't say that I'm not going to help you. I see now that this means a lot to you… so if you want to continue with this, I'll help you, okay?" says Jenna, standing up and getting close to Ellie.

"Thanks, sorry if I seem ungrateful, it's just… I don't know what to do to demonstrate to him how much I love him. And I told him that the age thing doesn't mean anything to me," says Ellie.

"Okay, since you don't want to go the direct route, let's try something else," says Jenna, putting one hand on her chin, thinking.

"Like what?" Ellie asks.

"Well… you can try to be nicer to him... do things for him, things that he normally does. Talk to him more, asking how was his day, something like that," Jenna starts giving Ellie some suggestions.

"Hey, I'm nice!... and I talk to him sometimes - I even read some jokes from the book you gave me," answers Ellie.

"Yeah, but you were acting like a little girl. If you want him to treat you like an adult, you need to do more things that the adults do."

"Well… I can do his laundry, or cook. He showed me how to clean the guns; I can do that for him."

"Cook? Really, last time you did that, you poisoned him, remember," says Jenna, laughing a little.

"Yeah… I was lucky that that was only just a stomachache... but I can ask Maria to teach me how to do better cooking. But I can still do some small things," says Ellie.

Jenna and Ellie continue their talking and working for a while, until Jenna's mother comes back. After Ellie finishes her job in the greenhouse, she says goodbye to Jenna and Claudia and starts on her way home. Before she gets to the house, it starts to rain, so she has to run home. When she enters the house, Joel isn't there yet. She decides to make something for dinner so Joel doesn't have to cook, just a little something that doesn't involve poisoning anybody.

 ***Next Day in Jackson***

After Tommy and Joel go to Tommy's house, they go to the little office he has there. Maria is still out attending to some town business, so Tommy offers Joel some coffee - a good one this time. After an hour, it starts to rain, and Tommy decides to call Maria through the radio. But before he makes the call, the radio buzzes: he receives a call from the front gate, informing him that Carl`s group has arrived. Since it's late and raining, Tommy decides to postpone the meeting until the next day. He tells the guard to tell Carl that he can tell his men to go rest, and come to his house in the morning for the report. After that, Tommy sends Joel home, too.

Joel wakes up with a headache. _I really shouldn't drink that shit... I didn't get drunk, but it had the side effects. Shit, and like that wasn't enough, Ellie tried to sleep in my room again. She used the excuse that it was raining and thundering and that she was a little scared of that, and didn't want to sleep alone. Scared of that, my ass - that girl don't get scared that easy. I had to take her to her room and stay there for a while until she fell asleep. I don't know why this girl likes to torture me like that... I try not to be too close to her, or think of her in that way, but if she continues doing things like that, it's not going to end well_ , says Joel to himself while he finishes dressing, then goes downstairs to the kitchen.

"Ellie!... what are you still doing here? I thought that your job in the clinic was at 9:00am and it's almost 10:00," says Joel as soon as he enters the kitchen.

"It's okay, I can go later… there's not much to do there today, and it's still raining. I decided to make you some breakfast, so you better eat before you go," says Ellie, putting a plate with food on the table.

"Okay, who are you and what did you do to Ellie?" Joel says, sitting and starting to eat a sandwich.

"Very funny, Joel. Look, I have to go now, I just wanted to prepare something for you to eat and say goodbye before I go. So have fun with your brother today, I know that you like that and I'll see you later," says Ellie, smiling. Then she approaches Joel, gives him a kiss on the cheek, and leaves the house with a smile.

After that, Joel finishes his food and goes to Tommy's house. It's stopped raining by the time he gets there, although it's still cloudy. When he knocks on the door, Maria opens it and lets him in. She informs him that Tommy is in the office with Dylan and that they are waiting for Carl and Bob. After half an hour, Carl and Bob arrive at the house, and Maria guides them to the office where the others are.

"Well, Maria and me are glad that all of you came back and didn't have any incident out there. So now I think we need to know what you found there and if Jackson's in any danger," says Tommy to the entire group in the room.

"Okay, let's start with the Saturday morning when we arrived at the little houses close to the river," says Carl, then starts to tell them what happened there.

"Okay - Bob, me, and the rest of the group arrived at the site close to the river, where the few little houses were. Bob explained to me what happened after he arrived there looking for Harold. How he killed the three Clickers and found Pete's dead body. I sent Scott and another of the men to check the perimeter and check for some clues. We went to the house where Pete's body was. So after we checked the whole place, we took the infected bodies and piled them up, including Pete's body, so we could burn them. Because Pete didn't have any family, it was better burning him, too... as he was infected, there was no point in bringing the body back to Jackson.

"After a few hours, we arrived at the little factory complex. Like Bob said, there were three buildings. In the parking lot, in front of the building, there were a lot of infected bodies. Like Bob told us before, these were the ones Dylan and him killed during the rescue, so we decided to burn them later. We dismounted the horses and went to check the buildings first.

"Bob had told us that Joel found Harold in the big building on the right. He said that there wasn't much there and that he killed a few infected in there. The other building on the left is where the other infected came out to attack them. So it was possible that there could be more traps inside there... the last one in the back they didn't get close to, so we decided to split into two groups and meet up at that one when we were done checking the first two buildings. I told everyone to take their time and be sure to check everything thoroughly.

"Scott and Dylan went to the building where they found Harold to check for infected or any clues that could be useful to us. Malcolm stayed with the horses. Bob, John, and me checked every room in the other building. The buildings were some kind of old factory; we don't know how nobody found this place before. The hunters and the scavengers checked most of the surroundings of Jackson, and in all this time, nobody came to this part of the forest? Unless this place was checked when Maria`s father was in charge of the town.

"We finished checking the building in an hour. We didn't find any infected or spores in there, or anything we can use. Just old rusted machines and furniture. So we left, and waited for the others to get to the last building. We checked it out and there was nothing in there, either. After that, it was getting dark, so we decided to make camp and get some sleep inside one of the buildings, and in the morning, start to gather the infected bodies and burn them.

"The next day, Bob, John, and me went to check the surroundings for clues or see if we could find more infected. Scott and the others started the cleaning processes... took us most of the day to check out that entire place and burn the bodies. After we finished, Bob told me that he was going to do some checking by himself, and that he would meet us in the houses on the river. I took the rest of the men to check south of the complex to see if there were more infected close by. After that, we camped where the houses were close to the river, and waited for Bob. In the morning, Bob returned, and he told me that he didn't find anything. It was getting cloudy, so we started to pack our things and make our way back to Jackson."

"Okay, all that is very interesting... so the place is clean now?" asks Tommy.

"Yes, and we checked all the surroundings, too, and no sign of more infected in the area," answers Scott.

"Also, I want to add that like I said, we didn't find anything useful for us there. But there's a lot of metal and zinc in that place that we can use to reinforce the fence wall in the future," Carl says, looking at Tommy.

"Well, that's good news then, but what concerns me is the fact that this place is there and we don't know anything about it. Maria, did your father mention this place to you? I know that he didn't to me before he died," Tommy makes the comment looking at Maria, as she is thinking of how to answer.

"Not that I remember, but he stopped sending people that way, because the wild animals in that area were gone and there was no point in going that way," Maria finally answers.

"Bob, did you find something when you went alone?" Joel asks as the others look at him, surprised that he wants to take part in the conversation since he stayed quiet the entire conversation, like his mind was in another place.

"No! I didn't find anything," says Bob.

"Okay, if no one has anything more to add to this, then-" Tommy stops talking when he sees Bob put up one hand.

"I`m not finished yet," says Bob, inclining himself forward in the chair to speak. "Like I said before, I didn't find anything there or close by, but I think what's strange is that place had a lot of infected, and they didn't look like they were there for a long time, at least not years. And there was no trace of how they got there or why they stayed there for so long. Also, we didn't find any spores in any of the buildings - in places like that there's always spores in there, so why didn't we find any like there's supposed to be, especially with no one cleaning them up for a long time."

"Okay, Bob, what you're trying to say is that we checked that whole place for three days and because we didn't find anything, we didn't do a good job? You said that there's not supposed to be too many infected there, but if I remember right, the majority of the infected that you and Dylan killed there came from the river. That they were the ones that chased Harold... I think that you said that in your report, remember," says Scott, starting to get irritated.

"Yeah, that's true, and I didn't say that anyone did a bad job, I just said that something isn't right in the big picture. That place was too clean, and if I can add to that, I didn't even find the two missing horses or any trace of where they went," says Bob.

"Look, Bob, we appreciate your help and your experience, but we have some other things to attend to. As that place doesn't have any more infected, I don't see a reason to waste human resources on this," says Carl.

"Well, I think that that's the decision Maria and Tommy have to make, not you," says Joel, trying to defend Bob's point.

"ALRIGHT!... everybody, calm down - we need to be focused here, okay? Bob, you have any other evidence that we could have a problem, with infected or otherwise?" asks Maria.

"No, I don't, but that means there's no one... all of this is really strange and we shouldn't discard any posi-" Bob is interrupted.

"Well, that can change, because we have another problem," says Albert, standing in front of the office door.

"Albert, aren't you supposed to be at the dam this morning?" asks Tommy.

"Yeah, I was… just came back half an hour ago, and I think that we have a problem over there, and the engineer wants to talk to you and Maria," answers Albert.

"Okay, I think this is my cue, time to go and cover my work shift on the wall for today," says Joel, standing up from the chair and passing Albert on the way to the door. Dylan walks after him too, as he doesn't have any important position in the town.

"Okay, Carl, you and Albert stay, we have more to discuss. The rest can go. I'll call you if I need anything else, okay?" says Tommy.

After that, everyone leaves Tommy's house to get back to doing their jobs. It has started to rain a little again when Bob catches up with Joel and Dylan.

"Hey, Miller!... Can we talk for a second?" Bob asks.

"Sure... you still have some concerns about this, do you?" asks Joel.

"Yes, all the things about that place are not right, and I think that we shouldn't let our guard down on this," says Bob.

"Well... you and the others didn't find any more infected, or any proof of something going on out there," says Joel.

"Yes, but you know that something's not right... those infected and Clicker in the houses close to the river. It was too strange that they didn't have any marks, and that place was too clean. Not even a clue to anything, and no spores for a place like that?" says Bob.

"So what you're saying is that someone was there before?" Dylan asks.

"Well, maybe not now, but I can bet that there were some people there before, and that we need to convince your brother and Maria to do something before a bad thing happens," says Bob to Joel.

"Look, maybe that might be true, but we don't know if that occurred, now or years ago, so it's going to be difficult to go and check that out any time soon," says Joel to Bob, but a little concerned.

"Okay, I know this isn't your job, but Tommy is your brother - just talk to him and see if he'll do something about this. Because believe me, a storm is coming, and it's coming soon." With that, he goes away and leaves Dylan and Joel standing in the light rain.

"What the hell did he mean by that? Even if he does have some skill, sometimes he acts like a crazy man," says Dylan.

"Well, maybe, but we need to keep an eye on things, just in case. Because we don't need any surprises."

"Okay, whatever you say, Joel, let's just go to our post before this weather starts to get to me," says Dylan and starts to run to the watchtower they are assigned to.

"Shit, I hope I don't get sick, with all this rain. But maybe it's good to be away from Ellie for a while. I don't know what's with her lately. But whatever it is can't be good for me… or is it?" Joel says to himself and walks to the watchtower.


	15. Chapter 15 : A Storm is Coming

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

 **A/N:** Hi this for all the people that, are reading my story, if you notice I always post the new chapter every Monday morning. But I want to inform you that the chapter 16 is going to be delay a week, that chapter is not going to be post in the Monday 17. I'm SW fan, so I going to travel to the SW celebration this week, so the days of 12 to 19 I will be in Orlando Florida. So the C16 is going to be post on Monday 24, sorry about the delay on that chapter, but the story is going to continue when I come back from the trip and thanks for continue reading my story.

* * *

 **Chapter 15 : A Storm Is Coming**

 ***A week later in Jackson***

 _It's Tuesday now, so I'm on the way to the clinic. I work there today. It's been a week since Joel had that meeting with his brother, Maria, and some other people. That week it rained for four days, so everything is a little quiet now. But some people are talking about the town meeting tomorrow; Maria said that it was important, and she and Tommy said that they want the most people possible there. Joel continues evading me... I think that he's starting to suspect something. All week I've been doing some cooking for him - well, practically just sandwiches, and I gave him some fruit. I did his laundry this week and tried to clean the house, too. He asked me why I was doing all that out of nowhere, so I told him that I was trying to help him with the house by doing more adult things._

 _I don't know if he believed me or not, but he didn't say anything. He even took me to the lake that weekend. We didn't stay there for long because the rain during the week altered the little lake, and the water was a little cold, too. Was a nice day anyway. I couldn't use the bikini because of the coldness of the water, so I had to use the lycra pants and a tank top. He used the same thing as before but in another color. He taught me how to hold my breath underwater, and more floating things... I even swam a little. After that, when we came back home I had a wonderful dream that night. Those dreams about him are starting to making me crazy, but I prefer those 1000 times over the David one - thank God I haven't had any of those since Joel came back from the forest._

 _I talked to Jenna yesterday and told her that there's no progress on the plan to make Joel admit that he loves me… well, loves me the way I love him. Jenna insisted that it was better if I ask him, but I'm just afraid that if I do that and something goes wrong, I'm going to lose him, and I don't want that. So let's see what happens. Okay, I'm at the clinic now, so let's do some work._

Ellie opens the door of the clinic and enters, then moves to the next room where she sees the nurse, Rose, putting a cast on a ten-year-old kid.

"Good morning! Rose, need any help with that?" asks Ellie as soon as she enters the room.

"Not right now. I'm almost finished, but the doctor wants to speak with you. He told me to tell you as soon as you came in today," says the nurse to Ellie and continues working with the boy.

"Oh! Okay, is he in his office? Or do you know what he wants to talk about?" Ellie asks.

"Yes! He's in his office, and no, he just said that it's something personal."

"Okay, thanks, I'll go see him now." _Crap, I hope I'm not in any trouble - that's the last thing I need right now._ "If you need any help, just tell me, okay?" says Ellie and starts walking to the doctor's little office.

"Oh, Ellie, I think you'll have to wait a little longer - he's with Margaret now, checking the status of her pregnancy. I don't think that he'll take long," Rose says, and goes back to finish her job.

"Okay then, maybe I can do something else until he's finished. I can clean the instruments you just used, if that's okay?" says Ellie to Rose, and starts to collect the instruments for disinfection.

"Okay, Oscar, I'm finished, so you can go to that room over there and sit. Your mama is going to get out of the doctor's office soon, okay?" says Rose, turning to Ellie. "Hey! Ellie, how is your father's arm? I hope he's doing better now?"

"What!... Joel is not my father, I already told you that before… We just live together like we're partners, or a team," says Ellie a little irritably.

"Well, I thought that he was your tutor or something. You don't think that's a little weird? You know, a sixteen-year-old girl living with an older man alone, without him being your father," says Rose.

"No! We've been together for more than two years now, so I don't think that that's weird at all. And he's not an old man, and besides, what we are is nobody's business," says Ellie, a little furious now.

"Sorry, Ellie, I don't mean like I don't approve of what you and Mr. Miller are. And of course I don't think he is too old. Well, he is a little, but I think that he looks okay. Just tell him that if he wants to come here and talk again, I'll be here this week from 9:00am to 3:00pm, and that if he needs any help with the bandage, or needs help with other things, he can come here anytime; I will help him with anything he needs," says Rose, trying to calm Ellie down a little, but failing.

"And why would he need to come here to talk to you? He doesn't talk to anybody, except that Harold man and now that Dylan guy. And I don't think he's going to need any help with anything, I can do that myself," says Ellie, looking at Rose suspiciously.

"I`m sorry, Ellie, I didn't mean to be so hard on you... Can I ask you something?" says Rose, getting close to Ellie.

"I guess!" answers Ellie, giving a Rose a hard look.

"Okay, I know that he's single, right? And I enjoyed his company very much last time he came here, so I just need to know if he's seeing someone. Since you're living in his house, I thought that… maybe you know if he is seeing someone," says Rose.

"What!... Well, I don't want to spoil your fun, but I can tell you right now that I think he's seeing someone…" _What the hell is wrong with this woman, did she just tell me that she wants to go out with Joel, really?_ Ellie says to herself. _I wish the doctor would hurry up - if this woman keeps talking about Joel, I'm going to punch her in the face!_

As if on cue, the doctor opens the door and steps out of his office with the patient.

"Okay, Margaret, just drink this once a day and you're going to feel better. And if you have any spasm or cramps, let me know as soon as possible, okay?" says Dr. Wilson while he walks his patient to the little waiting room.

"Thanks, Doctor. C`mon, Oscar, let's go home," says the woman to her son, walking out of the clinic.

As soon as Dr. Wilson walks the woman out of the clinic, he turns around and sees Ellie talking to Rose in a serious tone, so he walks over to where the two women are.

"Oh, Ellie, glad to see you here so early. Since there's no more patients today, I need you to come with me to my office. Rose, I'm going to be a little busy with Ellie for at least an hour, so please, can you take care of it if someone comes when I'm with Ellie?" says the doctor to Rose as he guides Ellie to his office.

"Sure, Doctor, no problem, I'll be at the front desk checking some papers that need to be archived," answers Rose, now moving to the desk.

"Okay, thanks," says the doctor to Rose while he directs Ellie to his office.

When they enter the little office, Dr. Wilson motions for Ellie to sit on the little medical bed that he has in the office and closes the door behind him.

"Okay, is there a problem, Doc? Am I in any trouble, because I can-"

"No! Ellie, you're not in trouble, okay? I just need another blood sample from you, and to check the bite mark on your arm to see how it's healing, okay? Now if you'd be so kind as to roll up your sleeve?" the doctor instructs Ellie while he takes the syringe and prepares it to extract some of Ellie's blood.

"Okay, this is going to pinch a little, but you know the routine by now," says the doctor as he injects the needle in Ellie's arm. After a few seconds, he takes the needle out with the blood sample. "Okay, that's going to be good for now."

"Dr. Wilson, you've been studying my blood since I got here... did you find out anything about my… you know... immunity, or if I can infect others?" says Ellie while the doctor is checking her arm.

"Well, Ellie, like I told you, Maria, and the Miller brothers before, you can't infect others by saliva or at least by blood contact. The virus that mutated in your system is too small to contaminate others, but like I said in the beginning when you arrived here and they told me about your condition, I need more equipment - more _sophisticated_ equipment that we don't have here - to do more precise tests. So I don't know yet if you can infect people by blood transfusion, but I'm almost sure that we can't create a cure for the virus using your blood. I checked your arm and it looks good, seems like the bite scar is almost gone, too," the doctor explains to Ellie.

"Yes, that's great, so maybe I can stop using long shirt sleeves to cover my arm soon, especially in summertime… umm, Dr. Wilson... can I ask you… another question?" Ellie asks, jumping off the bed.

"Sure, Ellie, you can ask me anything, I'd be happy to answer you if I can, especially if you have any medical questions, of course," says the doctor, smiling and putting the blood sample in a little fridge in the office.

The doctor sits at his desk and starts looking at some papers in Ellie's medical file. Then he sees that Ellie is silent, like she's trying to ask something and she can't.

"Ellie, if you want to ask me something private that has to do with your medical condition, it's okay," says the doctor, now looking directly into Ellie's eyes.

"If I ask you something, you're not going to tell Joel, Maria, or Tommy, are you?" asks Ellie, looking at the doctor a little nervously.

"Well… by the rule of this town you're still a minor, and as far I know, Mr. Miller is your official guardian for the time being, I guess. But if something serious is going on with you, or can put others at risk, I have the obligation to tell them. But if it's something personal, by the law-" He stops to laugh a little. "Sorry, I always forget that there's no law anymore, but I still respect the medical ethics and Hippocratic Oath."

"Joel isn't my guardian or anything like that, we… we just live together, and I don't know who this Hippocratic guy is that you're talking about," says Ellie, a little concerned now.

"Ha, ha, sorry, Ellie, I don't mean to laugh about that, it's just… sorry, okay, the Hippocratic Oath is that all doctors have the obligation of preserving any life no matter the circumstances. The medical ethics are rules that all the doctors in the old time had to follow. That means that I can't talk with anybody about anything that I discuss with you, and that includes if you tell me something confidentially related to your condition."

"So that means that you can't say anything to Joel, Maria, or Tommy, right?"

"That's right, Ellie, I can't unless you tell me to, or if it's serious enough that an adult needs to be informed," Dr. Wilson explains to Ellie, then asks, "So what is bothering you, Ellie?"

"Well… I just want… to know… if I can infect someone if we… get intimate… I mean like fucking?" Ellie finally says with her face red as a tomato.

"Damn, girl, you just have some words for things... so you mean, having sex with someone?" the doctor asks.

"Yeah, can he get infected?"

"Are you planning to have sex with someone? I didn't know that you had a boyfriend or someone you like," asks the doctor.

"No! I don't…" ... _not yet, anyway..._ "I just want to know for when the time comes," answers Ellie nervously.

"Well, I can give you the medical opinion, but if you want any emotional advice, I recommended that you talk to… Maria, or someone that you feel comfortable with. And the answer to your question is no! I don't think that you can infect someone that way. So as far as I can tell, you can have a normal sex life if you want, but as you're only sixteen, I think that you should wait. But that is my medical opinion; you can do with your life, whatever you feel is right, I'm not here to judge you."

"Okay, thanks, doc… so that's everything. Can I go now?" asks Ellie.

"Yes, you can go, we don't have any patients today so go and help Rose to organize things and study a little, okay?" says the doctor, standing up. "Oh! One more thing. What was your discussion with Rose about earlier?"

"Oh, that… well, she was asking me something about Joel. Umm... Do you know if Joel's been coming here a lot?" asks Ellie, a little nervous.

"Well, he comes here sometimes, even if he's not a regular patient, so that Rose can check and treat his wound. I've seen him talking with Rose sometimes, too. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing… I'll just go do my work here for today," says Ellie while opening the door to get out of the little office. "Oh, by the way, thanks for all your help."

"You`re welcome, girl, and I think that you could be a great doctor or at least a great nurse someday."

 ***Next day in the little community center***

 _The next day, Joel wakes me up early, he wants to do the laundry before we have to go to the community center. Maria asked everybody in town to be there in the afternoon. Except for little children and the people that are on guard duty. After breakfast, I collected the dirty clothes and took them to the bathroom, there I filled the bathtub and started to wash. It's still cloudy outside, but it just rains a little here and there, not too much, like last week._

 _Joel has to put some cable inside the house to put the wet clothes on to dry. In spite of all I did last week to get Joel's attention, I feel like it's not working; we keep talking and spending a little time together, but Joel's still avoiding me. Every time that I try to touch him or get too close to him, he moves away. He tries to make it look like it's not on purpose, but I have a feeling that it is. Jenna said that it's because of the age difference, but if I don't care, why does he? I know that there were laws against that in the old world, but we don't live in that time anymore._

 _I thought that I was making progress any time he touched me when we were in the lake, but now this whole thing with the nurse, Rose… shit, after I started to like her, and now she wants to steal Joel from me. That bitch, I know that she has a better body than me, maybe that's why Joel tries to do something with her. Can that be true, that Joel likes her? Fuck, I have to do something soon or I'm going to lose him. He's going to take me to the lake again this Sunday. So maybe I can use the bikini again, or try to sneak into his room again... that worked a little the first time... well, he touched me, right?_

 _After a few hours, we finished the laundry work, and Joel said that the clothes are going to take a day to dry inside the house. After that, we got out of the house and on our way to the center. I didn't say much during our way there, I was just still wondering if Joel liked that bitch nurse. Joel told me that what Maria and Tommy are going to discuss today is very important, that's why they want as many people as possible there._

"Damn… it looks like almost everyone is here; we better go and find a seat," says Joel, looking to the entry of the center, then to Ellie. "Hey, kiddo, are you okay? You didn't say anything all the way here."

"Unn?"

"I asked if you are okay?" asks Joel again.

"Oh, sorry, I was just thinking."

"Yeah, I think that sometimes you think too much," says Joel, laughing a little.

"I`m maybe a little tired... I didn't sleep well last night."

"Oh... did you have another nightmare?" asks Joel.

"No! I just couldn't sleep much." _Yes Joel, I can tell you that I had one - I spent almost all night thinking about you and Rose doing things together,_ Ellie says to herself.

After that, they enter the building. There are a lot of people there - almost the whole town. They mount some kind of stage in there that is used sometimes when they have some important announcement to make. Tommy and Maria are up there, as well as Carl, Albert, and a few other people that help Tommy and Maria to organize the town, including the doctor.

Since Joel doesn't want to draw attention to the two of them, he decides to sit in the back, which is fine with Ellie, as she doesn't even know most of these people. After half an hour, all the people there are seated, and Maria starts to speak.

"Okay, people, let's do this the best way possible, so everyone be quiet for a moment until we finish with the information we are going to announce," says Maria to the crowd. "Tommy!"

"Okay," says Tommy, "let's get started. All of you know by now that we had an incident with some infected attacking one of our patrols a few weeks ago. We want to let you know that all of that has been taken care of, so we don't have to worry about any infected close to the town."

After Tommy ends the sentence, some people start to talk to one another and murmur.

"Okay, we want to give our thanks to the men that made that possible, and keep our town safe. I want to mention the names of some of them: Dylan, Bob, Harold, Carl, my brother Joel, Albert, and a few more… thanks for always helping to preserve the safety of this town," says Tommy to the crowd, and some of the people start to applaud and cheer.

"Can you believe that? What did my stupid brother thank that asshole Albert for - he didn't do shit," whispers Joel to Ellie, but some of the people that are close to them start to look at the two.

"Okay, people, with that finished, let's move on to the other business we have. Carl, if you could please do the honors on that one," says Tommy, pointing to Carl.

Then Carl gets up from his chair and walks to the podium. "Thank you, Tommy... Maria... as everybody knows, me and my group returned from our trade trip a few weeks ago. We went to the Rock Springs Colony, like we always do, but when we arrived there, we saw that the colony had been attacked. We saw some infected bodies there so we assume that they get attacked by a big group of infected. We didn't find any survivors, and the colony was completely destroyed. For that reason, we're not going to have that trade post anymore, so we were forced to move more south, into Colorado." Carl pauses as people start to talk again, and when they stop, he continues.

"When we entered Denver, we were attacked by bandits, and we lost three men and a vehicle there. After that, we found some people that we helped, and they took us to a small town close in Monte Vista. It's a place close to the border of New Mexico. We talked with the people that are in charge of that place, and they are of the disposition to trade with us," says Carl as he finishes with his report.

"Joel!" says Ellie, in a low voice, now looking at Joel.

"Yes, kiddo, is there something on your mind?" asks Joel.

"Yeah… Maria told me yesterday that, after the meeting, we can go to her house and have dinner with them so that way we can spend more time together," says Ellie.

"Sure, kiddo, I think we can do that."

"Thank you, Joel, we haven't spent time with them in a long time. Joel... how's your arm, did you go to the clinic… in the past few days to get that checked?" asks Ellie.

"Yes, I went there two days ago to get the stitches out... why do you ask?"

"Oh… nothing, I just… wanted to know if you're okay, and- so if that's finished, you don't have to go there anymore, right?" Ellie asks Joel.

"Well, the arm is almost healed, but Rose wants me to go again this week to get that checked, to see if everything is okay."

"Oh, I see." _So he calls her Rose now too - damn, that slut really wants to take Joel away from me! I have to do something soon, before that happens,_ Ellie tells herself.

While Joel and Ellie are having their little conversation, Maria and Tommy continue with the explanation to the town about the new situation they have. And in that precise moment, someone gets close to them.

"Hi, I'm glad to see you here, Joel, how's the arm?" asks Rose, stopping in front of Joel and Ellie.

"It's good, thanks for asking. I`m going to the clinic next week so you can do your final check. But I feel good now, thanks," says Joel to Rose, but when he looks at Ellie he receives a hard look from her.

"I don't think that Joel needs to do that; his arm is okay now. And if you don't mind, we're trying to hear what Maria and Tommy are telling the town," says Ellie, looking at Rose.

"Oh, hello, Ellie. Well, that's fine, I just wanted to say hello to Joel. I'm going to find a place to sit, so see you later, Joel," says Rose while she moves away.

 _Great, that is all I need, and now I'm not going to be able to sleep well tonight ether,_ says Ellie to herself, while she and Joel continue to listen to Maria and the others.

"Okay, follower people, as Carl has already said, we don't have much alternative here - the town that we traded with before is no more, so this new place can give us a new alternative. They are a small town, but they have something that we need," continues Maria, speaking to the public, when some people start to ask questions.

"You said that they're in Colorado, that's not very far from here?" asks one citizen of Jackson.

"You already said there was an attack on Denver - isn't it dangerous to continue going that way?" asks another.

"People! Please, let us finish this and you can ask questions later, okay?" says Tommy to the public.

"Yes, this place is farther than the one we had before, but like I said before, they have medicine and medical supplies that we need right now. And there's another problem we have now - the energy plant that we have in the dam needs a special component and gas to keep the dam functional."

"That's right, people, and if we don't resolve that, we're going to lose the electricity to the town in a few months," says Tommy, entering the conversation.

"What do they want in return?" asks Claudia now.

"Glad you asked, Claudia, because this part concerns you, as you're in charge of the greenhouse and the food supplies. What they need most is food, and because this year we did good, I think we can help with that, and that's where you come in, so we can discuss this in more detail later. The other thing they need is volunteers that can help them in building a better defense for the town, and some other things that we can discuss with the people that need to be involved in this part," continues Maria.

"Listen, people, we'll go about this the best, safest way possible. It's going to be a little difficult, but until we find a better one, this is a good opportunity. But we're going to need the cooperation of the town for this to work. We know that some people are going to worry about this, but as we said before, this is the only alternative we have for now," says Tommy, trying to calm down the questions that are starting to form around the people.

"Okay, people, we're going to try our best to make sure that this works the best way possible, and we're going to work in other alternatives for the future. Tomorrow we're going to talk to the people that we need to work with on this to start the preparation for all this. So if any of you have any other questions, we'll answer them the best we can. The rest of the people that have work to do can go now," says Maria.

After that, some of the people start to ask some questions, and the rest stand up and start to go, including Ellie and Joel. Ellie doesn't have much to do today, so they decide to go back home until the evening.

After they get out of the town meeting, they walk home. Maria said that she would make dinner at 6:00pm, so they could be there at 7:00 if they want. On the way home, Ellie gets close to Joel and tucks his arm under hers, hugging his arm as she leans on him. _There's not many people in the street on the way home so I don't need to care what people are going to think. Of course, there's Joel... he doesn't say anything, but he gives me a strange look, and asks me if I feel alright._ _But now I can't stop thinking about that Rose and what she wants with Joel._

When they get home, they work on something in the house, and after a few hours, go to wash up and get ready for dinner. After they finish, Joel takes a bottle of grape juice that he prepared a few days ago, and tells Ellie that it's always polite to bring something to a dinner invitation in another house. Then they start on their way to Tommy and Maria`s house. When they arrive, Tommy opens the door and tells them that Maria is in the kitchen while he takes them into the house.

As soon as they enter the house, Joel goes and sits on the couch with Tommy and starts talking about guy stuff. Then he gives Ellie the bottle of juice and tells her that she can give that to Maria, so she goes to the kitchen to see if she can help Maria with anything.

"Hey, Maria, Joel told me to give you this," says Ellie as soon as she gives Maria the bottle.

"Oh thank you, Ellie, he didn't need to do that - we're okay, and dinner's almost ready," says Maria, taking the bottle from Ellie and putting it on the counter.

"So… you need help with anything?" Ellie asks Maria, but turns her head to try to look at Joel on the couch.

"Well, the food's almost done, but if you want to help, you can set the dinner table," says Maria, looking at Ellie, who can't take her eyes off Joel.

"I see that the people here are going to give you a hard time on the trade issue with that new town," says Joel to Tommy, trying to make some conversation.

"Yeah, don't worry about that, big brother - the same thing happened with the people we were trading with before. But they'll understand sooner or later that we don't have much choice on this," says Tommy.

"I hope that you can trust these new people because, from what you told-" Joel stops and looks to the kitchen, to check if Ellie is looking at them. "From what you told me about the Fireflies, that could be dangerous," Joel whispers to Tommy.

"Okay, guys, dinner is ready, so you two can finish your conversation at the table if you want, let's go," says Maria to the two brothers.

Half an hour later while eating dinner, Maria, Tommy and Joel are talking about the new trade people, and some problems with the dam. They talk about how some things are going to change in the town, that they need to grow more food and start to teach the young teens how to fight and defend the town.

After they finish dinner, Maria and Ellie go to clean the dishes. Maria tells Ellie that she doesn't need to do that, but Ellie insists on helping. When they finish there, they go to the living room and join Joel and Tommy there, then Maria goes and picks out a DVD movie so they can go sit and relax. Ellies goes and sits beside Joel on the big couch. Maria and Tommy sit together on the small one.

Maria puts the movie in and announces that it's a romantic one called 'The Lucky One.' _This is going to be nice - what I need right now is how to get close to Joel romantically_ , Ellie thinks.

After a while, Ellie gets closer to Joel and hugs his arm, and puts her head on his shoulder. He looks at her, but doesn't say anything... _just like on the way home earlier_. Maria gets up and brings some of the juice Joel brought over, and some pie, so they can have some snacks during the movie.

It is a nice evening... until Tommy opens his mouth.

"Hey, Joel, I hear that you and Rose have been talking a lot, soo is something going on there… you know what I mean... umm?" Tommy asks, giving Joel a wink.

Prfffffffff… Joel spits the juice that he has in his mouth on the floor, and starts to cough.

"What the fuck, Tommy!... who told you that?" Joel asks Tommy a little angrily.

"It doesn't matter who told me, but I think it's nice that you and Rose are starting to get out together... did you kiss her already?" says Tommy, teasing Joel and smiling.

"Wow, really, Joel... that is... Umm good news, I guess. I didn't know you were looking for someone, but I think that Rose is a nice woman, even if she is a little younger than you," says Maria, looking at Ellie's reaction to the news.

"Is that… true, Joel? You just said that you only go to the clinic to get your arm checked," Ellie asks while she pulls away from Joel, looking him in the eyes with a sad face.

"NO! That's not true, I think that Tommy's imagining things, so stop saying that. This ain't funny, brother, so whoever told you that, you can tell them that there is no Rose and me, okay? She's only attending my wound, and even if that was true, I don't like people spreading tales about me in this fucking town," says Joel to Tommy, now a little pissed.

"It's okay, big brother, it's nobody's business... your private life in here. So what if you want to go out with her? I see that she's a nice woman, and you don't have to stay single forever."

"I said drop it, Tommy, that's not funny anymore, and if I find out that you're telling her that I'm interested in her, you're going to regret that," Joel says, standing up from the couch.

"Joel! Can we go home? I don't feel well… please," says Ellie, standing up from the couch too and grabbing Joel`s arm.

"Ellie, are you okay? You seem a little pale. If you feel sick, maybe we can take you to the doc, or give you something," says Maria, getting up from the other couch, moving closer to Ellie.

"No, it's okay, I think it's just a stomachache. I ate too much," says Ellie.

"It's okay, I'll take care of her. When we get home I can prepare something for that, let's go," says Joel, after he puts one arm around Ellie's shoulder and starts to walk to the door.

"Hey, Joel, you don't have to leave - it's still early, and Maria can give Ellie something for that."

"She don't need to do that, I can take care of that at home myself. So it's better if we get going now, but thanks for the dinner. See you later, brother," says Joel as he opens the door and leaves.

"What the hell was that?" Tommy and Maria say at the same time, as they stand in the doorway, watching Joel and Ellie on their way home.

 ***Next Day deep in the Forest***

Deeper in the forest, at the old factory somewhat far away, south of the river. A van and 2 jeeps can be seen close to the building, and some people unloading some materials and boxes from the vehicle. It's early in the morning, and it's cloudy again; it's been raining for the past 3 days, but not hard, just light rain.

"Hey, you two - move the generators first to the main building, we need the electricity as soon as possible," says Brandon to some men that are carrying some boxes from the van.

"Sir, it looks like it's going to rain again today."

"Yes it is, so make the men work faster; we were supposed to be ready yesterday. And where are Tony and that other guy, the one in charge of the communication?" asks Brandon to the man arriving.

"You mean Fisher, sir?"

"Yes, that one - where are they?" asks Brandon again.

"I think they're in the second building, sir, mounting some equipment."

"And what the fuck are they doing there? I need the antenna mounted like, yesterday. Move your lazy ass and go tell them that if the antenna's not ready by this afternoon, they're going to pay for it. Now go," says Brandon, pushing the man toward the building.

After an hour, some men are moving in an old room, setting some boxes and equipment on the floor. A man is looking through a window, sitting on a chair behind a desk, when someone just opens the door and enters.

"Sir, did you call for me?" asks the man, now standing in front of the desk.

"Yes, George, I called for you," answers Lukas as he turns around and looks at the man. "Any news on the scouts that we left behind to keep watching?"

"We talked with the men that we left watching the town... they said that after the attack, they increased the guards, but they don't have any new information that can help us right now. But the man that we left close to the dam just arrived, and maybe he has some news… sir," answers George.

"Okay... so what the hell are you waiting for? Bring him here, you idiot."

"Yes, sir, right away." After a few minutes, George comes back to the room again, escorting a man.

"So…You have some information from your watch on the dam?" asks Lukas.

"Well… yes, sir, the patrol and the movement on the dam, it's still the same, no change on that. Except for a few extra men that went in there, the past two weeks. I think they were mechanics or something; they didn't carry any weapons."

"Well, that is something interesting for us. If they're having problems with the plant, it's a possibility that they're going to increase the security there. And with the information we have from the other men on the increasing of the guard on the town, that's going to be a problem for us," says Lukas as he stands up and moves to the front of the desk.

"Sir, there's another thing that I observed when I was up there."

"Well… spit it out! I don't have all day," says Lukas.

"Sir, for the last 3 weeks when I was up there, I went to check the perimeter of the dam and to check if I can find something that can help us, and found a little lake up on the north-" the man starts to explain, but gets interrupted.

"I didn't send you up there to take a tour on the forest nature - if you don't have any more information to say that can help us, you can go," says Lukas, raising his voice to the man.

"But, sir, there were two people in the lake alone, every Sunday. They look like they were using the lake to practice swimming."

"Only two people there? Are you sure?" asks Lukas.

"Yes, sir, only two: an old man and a girl. Looks like he was teaching her to swim, sir."

"Did you say an old man and a girl?"

"Yes, sir, they've been there every Sunday for the past 3 weeks."

"Can you say what age they are? Or what they look like?"

"Well, the man looks like he's in his fifties, is white, has a beard and black and grey hair... and the girl is like fifteen or something, she's white too and has reddish hair, and always in a ponytail. I think that she might be his granddaughter maybe," describes the man.

 _Is it possible that these two could be THEM?_ Lukas asks himself. "Okay, you said every Sunday, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, the boss is supposed to come next week, so if we can capture these two, maybe they can give us some information that we can use. So we better go to check this out next Sunday. You can go now and get some rest... what was your name again?" says Lukas, putting one hand on the man's shoulder.

"My name is Max, sir."

"Right, Max… then good job, Max, now go and get something to eat, and rest, I'll talk to you later okay?" says Lukas, signaling the the other two men to go out of the room.

After Max and the two men have gone, he orders George to stay for a moment. He walks and stops in front of the window, and starts to look at the forest out there, then turns his head to George.

"George, I want you to find 5 or 6 men; we're going to have a hunter party on Sunday. I want the best expert in bow and arrows, no other weapon - is that clear?"

"Yes, sir, I'll work on that right away."

"Good - now go."

"Yes, sir."

After the man is gone, he turns again and starts to look at the forest. _If these two are the ones that Michael is looking for, maybe we can get out of here without the need to attack the town, and this way we don't have to lose more men on this._


	16. CH: 16 A Lesson that didn't End Well

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

 **A/N :** Hi I back from my vacation in the SWC but a soon I came back I got sick so I been all the past week sick t a home. I put in the C15 that this chapter is going to be post on Monday 24, but like this chapter is already done and have a week delay, I decided to post today so hope you enjoy thanks.

* * *

 **Chapter 16 : A Lesson That Didn't End Well**

 ***Two days later with Ellie***

Ellie finishes her job at the farm early, so she decides to go to Maria's house and talk to her. Joel is working at the wall, so he'll be home later in the afternoon. _Joel_... _I haven't even slept well in the past two days. After we came back from Tommy's house that night, Joel told me that he doesn't have any interest in Rose, but is that the truth?_

 _Yeah, right… do I believe him? What if he just wants to make me believe that? He's a man and I know that men have some needs. He hasn't been with a woman since Tess back in Boston, I guess. He doesn't want to talk about that, but I think that he and Tess were something. And if what Tommy said is true, like he needs someone, and that he's not going to be single forever… does he really need to be with someone?_

 _But what about... me?! I'm someone, I live with him, and we are together… right? So he doesn't need anyone else, especially that Rose - shit! I even had a bad dream about that last night, like Joel and Rose got married and they adopted me. Fuck! I don't want to be adopted, I don't want to be Joel`s daughter, and I don't know what is worse - that, or David nightmares._

 _I need to do something soon, or I'm going to lose Joel forever. I hope that the talk with Maria will help me. I know that Jenna tries to help me and I'm grateful for that, but right now, nothing is working. If Joel has some feelings for me, I have to make him show that soon before it's too late… okay, I'm close to Maria's house now, so I hope that she can give me some advice that I can use._

 _I stay in front of the door with my hand ready to knock, but I just stay there, immobile, like something tells me to turn around and go home. What if Maria figures out that Joel is the one I'm falling in love with? What's going to happen to Joel if they don't agree with the situation? They would think that he's perverted when he's not; if we are in love, there's nothing perverted in that. But what am I thinking? There's no 'us', at least not yet... I still don't know if Joel feels the same for me, and this Rose situation isn't helping, either_ \- Ellie is pulled out of thought when the door is opened in front of her.

"Ellie!... Are you okay?" asks Maria as soon as she opens the door.

"What?"

"I asked if you're okay? You've been standing there for five minutes without knocking on the door."

"Oh, sorry… think that I lost track of time… maybe I should go," Ellie says, embarrassed, and tries to turn around and go.

"Ellie! It's okay, come inside - if you came here for something, or just want to talk, it's okay. My door is always open for you," says Maria while guiding Ellie inside the house and closing the door.

Maria guides Ellie to the kitchen and sits her at the table. After that, Maria goes to the fridge and takes out a jar of iced tea, then she goes and takes two glasses from the cabinet and serves the iced tea. Then she goes to the table, giving one glass to Ellie, and sits beside her.

"Okay, sweetheart, now you can tell me what's bothering you," says Maria, looking directly at Ellie with curious eyes.

Ellie just takes a sip of her drink and doesn't say anything.

"Is this about Joel?" Maria asks, breaking the silence.

Ellie coughs as soon as she hears Maria mention Joel, and almost spits out the liquid in her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Maria asks, as soon as she puts her glass on the table and gets close to Ellie's side, and starts to give her some pats on the back.

"Yeah, I'm okay... it seems like I drank the iced tea too fast."

"Okay… So you're going to tell me what's bothering you. Does this have something to do with what happened a few days ago with Joel and Tommy, about the Rose thing?" Maria ask, moving away from Ellie, back to her chair.

"No!... what makes you think that?" _Shit, the last thing I want to talk about is that,_ Ellie thinks.

"Well, I saw that you were a little upset about the conversation, and I think that you're maybe a little jealous about the possibility of Joel having someone else in his life. Maybe I understand after what you and Joel and all-" Maria is interrupted.

"No! I didn't come here to talk about that… It's just… is Tommy here?" she finally asks.

"No, he is tending to other business since Carl and his group went out on a trip this morning. Why?" Maria asks curiously.

"Because what I want to talk about is for girls only and I don't want Tommy to… You know. Hear." Ellie gets a little embarrassed trying to explain.

"Oh, I see… okay? So this is about a boy?… or about some changes in your body that you're going through?" Maria tries to ask Ellie without making her more embarrassed, but fails when she sees her face reddening.

"No, it's not about a boy… or anybody... At least not right now, I just… want to know… because I'm having this dream too and... I don't know… I just-" Ellie tries to explain to Maria but stops speaking.

"Ellie, it's okay if you want to know more about the changes in your body. I'll try to help you with that. You`re sixteen now, so it's perfectly normal for someone your age to experiment or something like that, like having sex dreams, or touching yourself, and some other things. You don't need to be ashamed if you like someone too, okay?" Maria tells Ellie while she puts one hand on top of Ellie's on the table.

"I don't mean that I'm with someone. This is just a hypothetical situation." _Shit, how do I ask this without Maria figuring out this is about Joel?_ "I just need to know how you know when someone loves you? I mean, can you teach me, or tell me how I can know?" Ellie asks shyly.

"Sorry, Ellie, but love isn't something that someone can teach, it's something that you feel."

"I know, but how do you know if someone loves you?" asks Ellie.

"Well, there's no real way to know, you just feel it when you're with a person that cares about you. But if you need to know how a man demonstrates that, well... When a person gets close to you, I mean emotionally, they start to do things for you. But not all people are the same - they try to show it in different ways, some by caring for the one they love, helping them emotionally or physically, others by buying them gifts… haha, I don't know if that one applies in these times. There are so many ways to do that; of course, the easiest and most common is kissing. Have you ever kissed someone before?"

"Well… If you mean on the mouth, I did that once. But I haven't had much time to do anything else after that... you know, and now I don't know what that means for me. But I read a lot of books and see it in movies."

"Well, if you saw some romantic movies, I can tell you that they are not the same in real life. Much of those movies are more fantasy," says Maria, smiling.

"Okay, what about sex? That's a way to show love too, right?" Ellie says, taking another sip of the drink.

"Yes, some people that are in love do that, but not always. Sometimes they do it for pleasure, too. Or when they want to have babies - when they're married, of course. Ellie, don't you think that you're a little young for that?" asks Maria in a curious way.

"I'm not thinking about doing that, _yet_ , I just want to know all I can for future information, you know. And I think that if a person loves someone, age shouldn't matter," Ellie says, a little angry.

"Ellie, I'm not here to tell you what you can or can't do with yourself; that is a choice you have to make for yourself. I know that you're a teenager and sometimes hormones can make things a little hard at your age. But you need to think, with your condition, is this even prudent to have sex with someone if you don't know if he can get infected or not. Did you talk about this with Joel?" asks Maria, a little worried.

"No!... But I talked to the doctor and he said that I can't infect anyone by having sex," Ellie answers.

"You talked to the doctor about this?" Maria asks incredulously. "Are you sure that you're not having sex with anyone?"

"No, I told you that this is for information only."

"Okay, I know that this is girls' talk, but I think that if you're going to do… something in the future, you should talk to Joel, too. Because if he finds out from another person when that happens, he's probably going to kill the poor kid that you end up with," says Maria.

"Yeah, I can tell, but believe me, Joel is going to be the first one to know when that happens." _I hope,_ Ellie thinks.

"Well, that's good to know. I don't want to deal with that, and neither does Tommy, I can bet on that," Maria says with a little smile.

They talk for a few hours, about other things that can happen sometimes, and also, Maria gave her the sex talk. _Yeah, I think that they told me something like that back in school in Boston... God, I didn't know that loving someone could be so complicated. Also, she told me that the first time is going to hurt a little bit, but after that, there's more pleasure. She told me that if I'm going to have sex soon and not want to get pregnant that he needs to use a condom, but since there's none in town, that I have to make sure that the guy doesn't shoot inside. I don't understand why a person is going to shoot me inside there - that's probably going to kill me._

After they finish, Ellie doesn't know if she's more confused than before. So she says goodbye and thanks her for the information, and asks her if in the future, she can teach her how to cook, too, then she starts on her way back home. When she enters the house, Joel is back from work, and cooking in the kitchen. He says that they're going to the lake a little early in the morning, because it's getting cloudy again, and they're probably going to get back to town a little early in the afternoon.

After finishing dinner, they go to the living room and play some card games for a few hours, and then go to their respective rooms… _I hope not for long now._

"Good night, Joel, see you in the morning," Ellie says, looking at Joel before entering her room.

"You too, kiddo, see you in the morning," answers Joel with a little smile.

 ***Sunday in the morning***

Ellie wakes up early in the morning like Joel requested. They prepare the things that they need there, like guns, towels, some food, and extra clothes. After gathering all their things and going to the stables, it's around 7:00 in the morning when they get there. They're given a horse - a young one, but not a pony this time. After that, they leave town and are on their way to the dam.

On the way to the dam, they talk a little. Joel tells Ellie about Carl`s group going out yesterday to check on a better route to get to the new trade town, and that they're going to be out there for a few days, maybe more. After an hour, they get to the dam, and Joel lets the one in charge of security of the place know that they're going to be up there until just a little after noon because it's cloudy and likely to rain today after that.

When they get to the little lake, they do the routine; Joel takes the horse to the same place and puts the things that they brought on the shore of the lake. Joel wears the same clothes as always: black shorts and a white t-shirt. He walks to the water and stops there, telling Ellie to go change.

"C`mon, Ellie, we ain't got all day - it's cloudy today and we have to finish this soon. You've already learned a lot so I don't think this will take much time," says Joel, starting to enter the water.

"Oh, don't worry, Joel, I don't need to go change." With that, Ellie starts to strip off her t-shirt and pants.

When Joel turns around, he stares at her with his mouth wide open when he sees Ellie in her bikini again. He tries to protest, but no words come out of his mouth this time.

"What?... you said that you liked it," says Ellie quickly, as she starts to move closer to Joel.

"Yes, I said that, but I don't think that right now is the proper time to wear that. It's going to rain later and it's been raining all week in the mountains so the water is going to be colder today," says Joel, trying to keep his eyes off Ellie's body.

"Joel, it's okay, I think I can handle that… soooo are we going to start this or not?!" Ellie quickly puts her hand on her waist and looks at Joel.

"Okay, let's not waste any more time on this - you know all the basics about swimming by now, so let's practice holding your breath underwater again, okay?" says Joel, turning around and getting deeper into the water, Ellie following him after a moment.

 _When we start with the practice, I try not to stare at Ellie or touch her too much. I've been in a battle with myself for weeks, trying to make some sense of all this and trying to do the right thing, but I`m losing that battle. I love this girl... it's not just something physical, even though she's beautiful, but this girl is something special. She is smart in so many ways, funny and strong... she gives me something that nobody else has in a long time. She gives me hope, hope for something better, a new future. She's changed me in so many ways._

 _But what now? I know that I`m in love with her, but I can't act on that. She is only sixteen, and all this is not right - I know that. Well, it's not supposed to be, in the old world, but Ellie is right: that world don't exist anymore. But I can't do this to Ellie. She has trust in me and I can't break that. Maybe Tommy is right: a mother figure could help Ellie in ways I can't._

 _Maybe I can do that... that Rose woman seems to be nice, so maybe I can try. I'm not in love with her, but she's an agreeable person, and Ellie's been working with her for more than six months, so I think that this could work. I just need to find a proper time to talk to Ellie. I just want her to be happy, and to have the better life that she deserves._

Joel continues with the lesson and after a few hours, he decides to tell Ellie to take a break. They both walk to the shore of the lake and sit on the rock, where they had put their things. Ellie takes out her towel and sits there. Joel does the same and goes to sit beside her. He grabs two apples from his backpack and offers one to Ellie.

"Hey, kiddo, catch." He throws the apple to Ellie, and she quickly catches it in her hand.

"Thanks, Joel," she says and starts to eat the apple.

They both stay there for a moment without saying anything.

"….Joel?"

"….Ellie?"

They both ask at the same time, and start to laugh a little.

"You go first," says Ellie, now looking at Joel.

"No! You go ahead; seems like you have something on your mind. Because you haven't said much since we got out of town, and that's rare for you," says Joel with a worried expression.

"…. Joel… do you... love... Miss Rose?" Ellie finally asks with a sad expression.

"Ellie... I know that we talked about this, but... would you be okay, if her and me get together?" Joel asks.

"No!... I don't know, Joel."

"But I thought that you liked her, and maybe having a real family could be good for you... you know, a mother figure," says Joel.

"It's not that I don't like her..." _but if she tries to take you away from me, she's going to regret that,_ she says to herself. "I just… don't want anything to change. I like the way we are, just you and me and no one else. I know it's silly but I like it that way - you are all the family I need," she says to Joel.

"Ellie, even if we get together, nothing is going to change. Ellie, all I want is for you to have a normal life, to be happy, okay?" says Joel, looking at her.

"But, I'm happy… just the way things are… just you and me and no one else."

"Well, maybe we can talk about this later, when we get back home, okay?" Joel says, putting one hand on her shoulder.

"Okay," answers Ellie with a little smile.

"It's noon now and it's getting more cloudy, so it's going to rain soon. Let's shorten this break and get to the test, okay?" says Joel, standing up and looking at the lake.

"Test! What test?" asks Ellie, standing up too.

"Well, I think that you know all that you need to swim now, so it's time to test that. Now I'm going to swim to the other side of the lake and wait for you there," Joel says.

"The other side... what do you mean by that?"

"It means that you're going to show me what you've learned," Joel says to Ellie, then goes into the water and starts to swim to the other side.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Joel? That's too far," Ellie says, a little loudly now.

Joel continues to swim until he reaches the other side of the lake, gets out of the water, and turns around to speak to Ellie.

"It's okay, it's just going to take like two minutes to cross, and I know that you can do it, kiddo. Just apply all that you've learned by now... c'mon, you're not going to quit now, are you?"

"Yeah, that's easy for you to say," says Ellie, wading into the water now.

"Just trust me and trust in yourself. Don't be scared, I know that you can do it, and I'll be here just in case."

 _C`mon, Ellie, you can do this, it has to be easy now... and Joel is here, he won't let anything happen to you_ , Ellie says to herself.

After Ellie starts to get deeper in the water, she starts to apply all that Joel taught her, and starts to swim. At first, she does it slowly, and tries to move her arms and legs the way Joel taught her. She is almost halfway when she hears Joel calling out to her, giving her encouraging words, like 'take your time, kiddo, don't lose the rhythm.' She can feel the water flowing faster beneath her; as she gains speed, her heart beats as fast as possible now. The only thing she has in her mind is to get to Joel.

That is all the motivation she needs, to be with Joel, the man that gave her a new life when no one else could. This is it, there's no doubt now she loves him, and the only thing she wants right now is to get to the other side, grab Joel and never let go.

When she feels the bottom of the little lake, she knows, she knows that she made it, she finally knows how to swim. Thanks to Joel - all she has now is thanks to Joel, the man that she loves.

As soon as she feels the ground, she stands up and starts to run to him, screaming at Joel, "I did it, Joel, I did it!" When she gets close to him, she jumps on him and wraps her legs around his waist, then puts her arms around his neck, and starts to laugh and feel her happiness.

"Hey, kiddo, be careful - you don't want to break this old man's back, do you," Joel says as soon as he grabs her legs so she doesn't fall down. "See, I told you that you can do it."

Ellie just stays there in his arms, looking at his face, smiling, her heart beating too fast now. Then she can't wait any longer, she has to say it: "Joel… I love you."

"I love you too, kiddo, I'm always going to care about you," Joel says, looking at her.

"No! Joel… I mean I love you… like a woman loves a man," Ellie says, now looking into his eyes, desperate to know what Joel is going to say to that.

"You what?... Ellie! I don't think-" Joel is cut off by Ellie when she bends down to his face and kisses him on the mouth.

She's been waiting for this moment for a long time, so this is it, no going back now. She opens her mouth and tries to deepen the kiss, when she feels that Joel is not returning the kiss. _Did I make a mistake? Does Joel not feel the same way for me?_ she thinks.

Joel just stays there, not knowing what to do when Ellie says that she loves him and starts to kiss him. He has Ellie in his arms, kissing him, but even though he loves her, and now knows that she loves him too, he doesn't know if this is the right thing to do.

 _Fuck! what do I do now? I know that this is wrong. I've done all kinds of horrible things in the past, so now I'm going to add this too? Someday I'm going to pay for all the mistakes I made in my life, so one more ain't going to make a difference,_ he says to himself.

And when he feels Ellie's tongue begging for entry, he just opens his mouth and lets her in. He holds her tighter against him now, and his tongue starts fighting for dominance with hers in his mouth. It seems like hours have passed in just a few minutes, and even though the back of his mind tells him that this is wrong, he is enjoying every second of it, and sees that Ellie enjoys this too.

Ellie feels like she is in heaven, her heart beating so fast that she thinks it's going to get out of her chest, and even though this isn't her first kiss, this feels better than when she kissed Riley. She starts to get excited when she feels Joel's big hand squish her butt now... she can feel his hard penis close to her, too. She feels like she's getting shocked by electricity throughout her whole body, when her hormones start to kick in. She starts to move her hips up and down so she can feel Joel's hard member more. After that, Joel loses his balance and both of them land on the ground, but never separating from the kiss; they only break the mouth connection when both of them need some air.

"Shit… Ellie, you're going to kill me, and I don't think this is going to end good either," says Joel as soon as he separates his mouth from Ellie's to breathe.

"Joel, please don't think that this is wrong, I've been waiting for this like forever," says Ellie breathlessly, then she looks at him as if pleading for more. And as Joel doesn't say anything, she starts to move her hips back and forth against Joel`s hard dick, then she bends down and starts to kiss him again. After a while, she moves her hands down on Joel`s waist and starts to pull up his t-shirt.

"Ellie, I don't think this is a good idea," says Joel, breaking the kiss again and grabbing Ellie's arms to prevent what she's going to do.

 _Clack._. The sound of a branch broken on the ground is heard near where they are.

"What was that," Ellie says to Joel, lifting herself up and looking to the trees behind them.

 _Clack.._ The same sound again.

"There's someone here, Ellie, get up, quick," says Joel, then he gets up and pulls Ellie behind him.

"Do you think it might be infected?" Ellie asks behind Joel.

"Shit! I don't know, kiddo, but we need to cross now, because our weapons are on the other side of the lake," says Joel, moving back towards the water.

Ellie turns around and starts to get into the water when she feels Joel pushing her down. Joel ducks an arrow from a man in the bushes close by. Then the man jumps out from there and starts to move to where they are, but Joel moves fast and tackles the man, pushing him against the ground. Then he looks at Ellie and orders her to cross the lake and get the guns.

Joel turns his head back to the guy when he tries to hit him in the face, then Joel grabs his hand and punches him in the ribs. When the guy loses his grip on Joel, Joel grabs him by the neck.

"Who are you?... Why are you here?" Joel starts to ask while shaking the intruder.

Without Joel noticing, the guy takes out a knife from the side of his pants and stabs Joel in the leg. Joel quickly grabs his hand, but the guy pushes him off of him. Joel is lying down on the ground now, and the guy starts to get up. The guy tries to jump on Joel, but Joel pulls the knife out of his leg and stabs the guy in the side. The man falls down and Joel grabs his neck again, and pins him on the ground.

"How many are you? Answer me!" Joel starts to ask the guy, who struggles to pull himself out of Joel's grip but doesn't say anything.

When the guy tries to scream, Joel puts one hand over his mouth, and pushes the knife deeper inside the guy. He screams into Joel`s hand until he can't anymore. Joel starts to pull away from the bloody body now, when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He quickly turns around and sees Ellie standing behind him.

"Ellie, what are you doing here - I told you to cross and get the guns? I don't think this is the only one here," Joel tells Ellie and starts to check the man's clothes.

"I know there's more on the other side," Ellie says, pointing to the site where they left their things.

"Okay, we have to go now," he says and starts to strip the shirt off of the dead man.

"Joel, they're going to get the guns and the horse now, and that way is the only way out of here, right?" asks Ellie, getting close to Joel.

"Fuck!... C`mon, we can follow the river, that can get us to the dam." Joel takes the knife out of the man and takes off his shirt. "Put this on and let's-"

"OYE PEDRO! ESTÁN DEL OTRO LADO DEL LAGO, MIRA," a man yells to the other man who is looking at the backpack close to the lake.

"Malditos cabrones, cruzaron hacia el otro lado, ve y avísale al jefe rapido, y tu no te quedes ahí parado disparales," says the man on the shore of the lake, when another man starts to shoot his arrow to the other side of the lake.

Joel pulls Ellie up and starts to move to the trees, when some arrows start to land close to them.

"Shit! They saw us - c`mon, Ellie, let's go!" He grabs Ellie's arm and starts to run, disappearing when they enter the forest. Then more men arrive at the site, once they hear the yelling.

"What happened here, where are they?" asks Lukas as soon as he enters the location.

"These two morons let them escape," says the man that was shooting the arrows.

"Que! Eso no fue nuestra culpa ya estaban del otro lado cuando llegamos," answers one of the men.

"Oh, just shut up. Why you - just stop making excuses and go after them. Okay, they can't have gone far - you three go and cross the lake and follow them. Max, Eric, and I are going to find another way to intercept them, before they get down the mountain. The rest of you, take the horse and all that they left behind," says Lukas to his men.

When they start to move, they can hear thunder... it sounds closer now than before.

After about ten minutes, Joel stops and leans against a big tree, taking a little break.

"Okay, they're going to follow us soon, so we have to move quick," says Joel, trying to stay calm.

"What are we going to do? They have weapons, and we don't know how many there are... and what do you think they are - bandits, or hunters?" asks Ellie as she finishes putting on the shirt.

"Probably hunters, they're too clever to be just some random people," says Joel, trying to hold off the pain in his leg.

"And how do you know that?" asks Ellie with a curious expression.

"Because they know we're here alone, so they must have been watching us, and they don't have any guns on them... well, at least not the one I killed. But the others just fired at us with arrows, so the thing is that they have no guns or they're trying not to make much sound," Joel explains to Ellie.

Ka-boom!... Ka-boom! The sound of more thunder can be heard now.

"Well, they have our weapons now... fuck! My mother's pocket knife was in my pants," says Ellie, now getting a little furious.

"Okay, kiddo, time to go," says Joel as he tries to move away from the tree. Then Ellie notices that Joel is limping around.

"Joel! You're wounded," says Ellie as soon as she sees the blood on Joel's leg. "Why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

"It's okay, it don't hurt much... c`mon, we need to keep going," says Joel, trying to walk again.

"Wait, I need to take care of that first." Then she tears one of the shirt sleeves, gets down on her knees, and starts to wrap up the wound. After a few minutes, they start to walk again.

After five more minutes, they find the part of the river that feeds the dam. The river isn't deep and has a lot of rocks in it. By the time they get there, it's already starting to rain. They keep following the river for ten more minutes, until they reach a cliff.

"Shit... what now, Joel?" asks Ellie, looking at the long way down the waterfall.

"There, see, there's the dam down there, so the only thing you need to do is jump, get to the dam, and let them know about the hunters, okay?" says Joel, getting beside her on the cliff.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! It's too high to jump, I'm not going to make it," says Ellie with a worried expression while she looks down the waterfall.

"Oh, c`mon, girl - if I remember right, you jumped from a bridge higher than this, so I think that you can do this now," says Joel with a little smile.

"Joel, what do you mean - by myself?" Ellie turns from the cliff and looks at Joel.

"Ellie, they're close now, and we don't know how many there are. So I'm going to distract them so you can go to the dam and warn the others. If they're going to attack the-" Joel gets cut off.

"No fucking way, Joel, I'm not going to leave you here alone - you're wounded, so if we're going to jump to get there, we do it together," Ellie says, wiping the rainwater off her face.

"Listen to me, kiddo, I can't swim with my leg in this condition, so the best I can do is buy you time. I'm going to distract them and guide them away, so you can reach the dam and bring help up here," says Joel, now putting his hand on Ellie's shoulder.

"Joel, you don't have any weapons, and there could be four or five of them - you can't fight them on your own. So there's no way I'm going to leave you here, okay? If you don't jump with me, I will stay here with you, we can fight them together like… like we did so many times," says Ellie, tears now falling on her cheeks.

"Ellie, I'll be fine. I'm not going to fight them all... they're probably so stupid that they won't even find me. And if I jump with you, they're going to find us and nobody's going to warn the people at the dam, so you need to do this, okay?" Joel says to her, passing his hand across her face to wipe away the tears.

"NO!... you`re not going to be okay... they're going to kill you… and… I don't want to lose you, not after… what happened in the lake, not ever," says Ellie, now crying.

Joel looks around when he hears some sound coming from the trees close by. Lucky for them, the rain covers their tracks, and the river sound blocks out their voices.

"They're close now, kiddo, you need to jump now," says Joel, putting his two hands on the side of her face.

"Joel, I can't… I'm not going to leave you here alone… to die... I… I love you! Please, Joel, I can't lose you… please, I love you, don't do this to me… please. And you promised that you weren't going to leave me… that we'd be together forever," Ellie says, still crying.

Joel looks at her for a moment, trying to think of something to say, but he doesn't find any words, so he pulls her face to his and kisses her. Kisses her so passionately, like it's going to be the last time he'll ever be with her. He loves this girl in a way that he never imagined he could love anyone again, but as much as this is going to hurt, he doesn't have any other choice. Ellie is so distracted by the kiss that she doesn't notice that they've moved close to the border of the cliff when he breaks the kiss.

"I`m so sorry, Ellie… hope that we can see each other again… I love you… Goodbye." With that, Joel pushes her off of the cliff into the river below.

"Nooooooo…Joel!" Ellie screams when she falls from the cliff into the water.

"Hey oyeron eso están por ese lado, muevanse," says one of the men, getting out from the trees and closer to the river now.

Joel quickly starts to move, so the men that were following them would go after him. That way, he will make sure that they don't see Ellie down in the river. So he goes the opposite way, up to the mountain again.

After Ellie falls into the water, the impact is very hard. She feels a little pain, but she doesn't have time for that, so now she feels the current of the river quickly sweeping her way down from the mountain. Even though she now knows how to swim, the rain makes the stream stronger, and makes swimming more difficult. Taking a big breath, she starts to move her arms and legs, just the way Joel told her, and tries to swim to the shore of the river, but it's difficult even to stay afloat in the rapid water.

She goes underwater several times, but makes it up to the surface, and she starts to cough as soon as she gets her head out of the water. But after a few minutes, the current is starting to get faster. Her arms are getting tired, but she refuses to give up; the only thing that keeps her from drowning is Joel - she wants to see him again, so she needs to survive.

She is getting more water in her lungs than air… that's when she sees that the river is taking her to another small cascade. She tries again to get away and starts to swim against the current, but it's too late; without anything to hold on to, she falls down the little waterfall into the continuing river below. She goes under the water and her head hits a rock on the bottom of the river. She makes it to the surface, but she starts to get a little dizzy as some blood starts to flow down her face. Then she sees some branches floating in the water, so she swims to one of them and holds on tight. She feels a little relieved that she is not going to drown.

 ***Half an hour later at the Dam***

In one of the watchtowers at the dam, some of the guards are keeping a close watch on the perimeter of the place. Since the rain is getting heavy now, it's a little difficult to see.

"Hey, Tom, can you see anything on the way up the road, to the mountain?" asks one of the men at the dam from below the tower.

"I can't see shit out there, and you better tell Houser and Earl to stop working on those generators. Because we might need to close one of the dam gates; there's a lot of water coming down, and some debris, too," says Tom from above.

"Hey, Ross, do you have any news from that Miller guy and his girl?" asks Harry, the one in charge of the security of the dam for the week.

"No, I don't. Why?" answers Ross.

"Because they were supposed to get down there before the rain started, and Liz has been calling them on the radio and it seems that they turned that off," says Harry.

"Well, that guy does that every time he comes here, so I'm not surprised," says Ross.

"Right then, so we need to prepare some men to go up there and check if everything is okay."

"Are you serious? In this weather? And who are you going to send - the next patrol is going to be delayed in this weather, and the next shift is late, too. And besides, that guy is always trouble. Half the town doesn't like him," says Ross, trying to get away.

"Well, he can be the son of the devil if you like, but he is Tommy's brother, and I promised him that I would keep an eye on him and the girl. And since I'm in charge of security here for now, you're going up there," says Harry with a firm voice.

"Damn, man, I don't want to go out there in this weather… Shit," says Ross, kicking a little rock from the ground.

"Okay, I think that Victor is still here, so let's use him, too. Hey, you - kid - go to the garage and tell Gary that I need him here now," orders Harry.

"Okay," says the teen as he starts running.

"Hey, boss, I think that I see something floating in the river," says Tom, looking across the river with the binoculars.

"Hey, can you see what it is?" asks Harry, looking up to the tower.

"No! Well, I can see some branches there, but they're too far away, and the rain's not helping... but there's something else with the branch... I think it's a… body!" says Tom, continuing to look at the river.

"Is it human or an animal?" asks Harry in a desperate tone.

"I don't know, I can't see clearly from here," answers Tom.

"Okay, we need to check that out. Ross, go and get Victor and the horses. Gary, you and me, let's go and get some guns. Tom, keep the radio open and inform me if you see anything else, okay?" After Harry gives the instructions, all the people go to do as they were told. After ten minutes, they get all they need; they head toward the other side of the dam to get to the river.

The rain is a little lighter now. After ten more minutes, they get close to the part of the river where Tom saw the body.

"Tom, do you copy?" asks Harry, looking now to the river.

" _Yes, boss I copy_ ," Tom answers.

"Do you still see the body on the river, over?"

" _Yes, it's close to the shore, like ten feet up on your position, over_."

"Okay, thanks, let us know if you see anything else, over," says Harry, putting the radio away.

"Okay, people, ten feet in that direction - move," says Harry and kicks his horse to move faster.

When they arrive at the point, they dismount their horses and walk to the shore of the river. They still hear thunder sounds in the distance.

"Oye creo que veo algo, ayi en el agua junto a la rama grande," says Victor, and quickly jumps into the water to get close to where the body is holding the branch.

"Hey, is it human or animal?" asks Harry, getting close to the water, too.

"Hope that it's an animal, and not an infected," says Ross, taking out his weapon.

"Victor, can you see what it is?" asks Harry, a little desperate now.

"O por Dios!... es Ellie," says Victor as soon as he gets close enough to see the body, then he gets to her, turns her around so that her face is out of the water, and starts moving to the shore.

"What did he say? Hey, man, speak English, please," asks Ross, getting a little nervous.

"It's Ellie!" Victor says as he gets close to the shore now.

"Fuck, is she breathing?" asks Harry when he gets close to the both of them. He helps Victor put her on the ground, and checks her pulse.

"Seems like she almost drowned, and she has a wound on her head, too," says Gary, now getting close, too.

"Is she naked under the shirt?" asks Ross.

"No, ella tiene un traje de baño, en eso es en lo que te fijas?" replies Victor.

"What? She's wearing a bikini? What the hell they been doing up there," says Ross, trying to imagine that.

"Stupid! Her old man's been teaching her how to swim. Shit, she doesn't have a pulse... any of you know CPR?" Harry asks quickly.

"I do," Gary says, then gets down on his knees and starts to administer CPR to Ellie.

Everyone stays quiet while Gary performs CPR and tries to make Ellie react. After a few minutes, Ellie coughs and starts to spit some water out of her mouth.

"Ellie, what happened? Where's your old man?" asks Harry, getting close to her face now.

Ellie feels so weak that she can't even open her eyes; she tries to speak, but no sound comes out of her mouth.

Ka-bam!... A loud sound can be heard in the distance.

"What was that?" asks Ross looking to the mountain.

"Was that thunder?" asks Gary, with a confused look.

"Sounded more like a gunshot..." says Harry.

" _If that was a gunshot?_... Joel!… he's still up there," says Ellie, almost whispering, before she closes her eyes and everything goes black.

Everyone looks at Ellie in surprise, and then at the mountain. "What's going on here?" asks one of the men.

( ten minutes earlier on the mountain)

"A dónde se fueron? se que estan por aqui cerca, yo los oi," says Pedro.

"Estás seguro? El jefe se pondrá furioso si se escapan," says another man.

"Mierda, oye tu ve de vuelta a la cascada y tu ven conmigo," says Pedro to one of his men and starts walking to the other side.

A few minutes later, the solitary man who was on the way to the waterfall is tackled to the ground by Joel, then he puts a knife to his throat.

"Okay, asshole, you're going to tell me how many people are with you, or you're going to die," says Joel, pressing the knife more firmly to the guy's throat.

"No comprendo? Por favor no me mates, yo sólo obedezco órdenes?" says the man, pleading now.

"Oh, you don't understand. Let's see if you can understand this, pendejo." Then Joel takes the knife and stabs the guy in the arm, and the man screams in pain. Just as Joel is about to ask him again, he feels a gun in the back of his neck.

"I think that I can answer that question, old man. And maybe you can answer one of mine: where is the girl?" says Lukas, ready to pull the trigger.

"Fuck you!... you're not going to get anything from me," says Joel to the man without turning back.

"Have it your way, old man," says Lukas, smiling.

Ka-bam! A loud sound can be heard for miles, all over the mountain.


	17. Ch 17 : We Dont Leave One Behind

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

* * *

 ***Two days earlier in dam***

At the incident at the dam, two days earlier, and after Ellie was brought back by CPR, Harry and his men got her inside the dam and called Tommy. He arrived with Maria and the doctor one hour later. The doctor checked Ellie and told Tommy that they needed to move her to the clinic. By then, the rain was minimal, so Tommy told Maria and the doctor to take Ellie back to town while he and a few men went up on the mountain to look for Joel.

When they got up there, they didn't find anything: not the horse, not Joel and Ellie's things, and not Joel. Tommy and the men searched the area for several hours without finding anything... no clues, nothing.

The rain started again and they had to come back to the dam, then Tommy ordered a few of them to go back up there when the rain stopped again.

(Two days later in Tommy & Maria`s house)

"I don't care what it's going to take, I want you and your team to continue the search - do you get that, Albert?" Tommy yells into the radio.

" _We've been looking here for anything... if he was dead, we'd have found the body by now, and if there were bandits who attacked them, they'd be long gone by now,"_ answers Albert through the radio.

"Well, I don't care how much time it's going to take, just find something. I sent Bob again, an hour ago, so he's going to be there soon. Just do your job," says Tommy with an angry voice.

" _I don't think that's going to be any-_ " the radio went off, while Albert was still talking.

"Any news on the search?" asks Maria as soon as she enters the little office in their house.

"No, they haven't found anything yet, and the rain for the past 36 hours isn't much help, either. They haven't found a body, either, so that's a good thing," Tommy says, putting the radio on the desk and looking at Maria.

"Tommy, Joel is a survivor, and if he tried to make sure that Ellie reached the dam, I'm sure he had a plan. I know that he's not going down that easy... maybe he's still out there, trying to get back to town. Those mountains up there are very tricky sometimes," says Maria, getting close to the desk and putting her hand on it. "You don't think that whoever attacked them up there… killed him, do you?" Maria says now, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Well, if that's the case, why'd they take the body? If they just wanted to steal from them, why kill Joel and take the body with them?" Then Tommy gets up from the chair and gets close to Maria.

"Well, the only witness we have of what happened there is a sixteen-year-old girl, lying in a bed in the clinic, unconscious. She's the only one who can tell us what happened... so I'm going to the clinic and check if Wilson has anything new - are you coming?" asks Maria, putting one hand on his shoulder.

"It's my fault… you know. I shouldn't have let them go up there alone after the incident with the infected," says Tommy, lowering his head.

"Honey, this is not your fault, or theirs - we're never going to be sure when some assholes are going to come here and try to take what we have. So don't blame yourself for this, okay? Besides, Joel and Ellie are capable of taking care of themselves; that was why we both agreed on letting them do that, remember? So don't be so hard on yourself. You're doing all you can to resolve this." Then Maria moves to embrace her husband and kiss him on the lips.

"I'm still not sure how to resolve this and-" Tommy is interrupted.

"Babe! We're going to get to the bottom of this, okay? If your brother is out there, we're going to find him. Joel is part of this town now, and we don't leave anyone behind," says Maria, stepping away from her husband and starting to walk toward the door of the room.

"Thanks, Maria... that was very nice of you. I know that my brother is a pain in the ass sometimes, but he is my brother, you know."

"I know. Don't worry, we're going to find him. Now I'm going to the clinic - are you coming?"

"I'll catch up with you later, you go ahead; I still have something to do first," says Tommy, moving again at his desk.

"Okay, see you later, babe." After that, Maria leaves the house and goes to the clinic.

(some time later in the clinic)

"Okay, Doc, I know all these technical things you said, but she's been like this for the past two days. Is there any progress or improvement in her condition?" asks Maria, sitting in the doctor's little office.

"Like I told you before, I treated the lacerated ribs, and we took care of the excess water in her lungs. But the hit on the head is more complicated; we don't have any X-ray or CT scan here to check her brain. The only thing I know is that she has a concussion in the head. I treated that the best I could with the equipment I have here; the rest depends on her," explains the doctor to Maria.

"Look, I know that you're doing the best you can, but Joel is missing, and I need to know if Ellie is going to be okay ant if she's going to wake up any time soon?" asks Maria with a desperate tone.

"I think that she's going to be fine; she doesn't have any internal bleeding or any brain damage that I can see. So I think that she could wake up at any time, but that's going to depend on her," says the doctor, standing up and starting to walk to the door.

"Okay, Doc, thanks. Can I stay in her room for a while?" asks Maria while she follows the doctor. "Maybe talking to her might help a little."

"Sure, that sometimes helps, so go ahead. You know the room. I will talk to Rose to see if she finished with the last test I tasked her with." After that, Maria goes to the room where Ellie is and sits in a chair close to the bed, then takes Ellie's hand and starts to talk to her.

(Two hours later)

 _All I see is darkness, in all directions, like if I was in a dark room... where am I? why can't I see anything? I hear some voices in the distance but I can't recognize any, why… where is Joel? JOEL!... JOEL! Where are you? He has to be here, is this a dream? Last thing I remember is the river, yes, we were there at the border of the waterfall. He was talking to me, but I can't remember what... he kissed me, was that real or a dream? Then he pushed... me! Why did he do that?! I was so scared, but he told me he loved me, if that was real? Then I remember the river, it was raining, and the water was cold and then I heard the thunder… the thunder, or was it a gunshot? Ahhhh... why does my head hurt so much - I have to get out of here, wherever this place is, I need to find Joel. Where are you, Joel? Please... don't leave me… I love you… I can't live without you... Please come back. It's no use, I'm lost in here in this nothing place, because that is what I am… nothing, without you!_ Ellie is talking inside her head.

"Ellie!... c`mon, girl, you need to wake up. I know that you're strong and you're going to be okay," says Maria to Ellie while stroking Ellie's hand. Then she leans over Ellie, kisses her on the forehead, and sits back in the chair for a few hours.

"Hey, how is she?" asks Tommy, putting one hand on Maria's shoulder.

"Dr. Wilson said that she's going to be okay, but he doesn't know why she hasn't woken up yet," answers Maria, taking Tommy`s hand with her own.

"She's going to be fine, she is a strong girl - I think that she's a little like Joel," says Tommy, bending down and kissing his wife on the cheek.

Tommy and Maria continue talking, then they see that the girl lying down on the bed starts to move slowly.

"Joel… Joel where are you?" Ellie says with a lower voice, starting to open her eyes.

"Oh! Ellie… thank God! We're glad that you finally woke up," says Maria, getting close to Ellie and starting to pass her hand over Ellie's head.

"Where… is… Joel? Is he in here?" Ellie starts to ask, a bit slowly, trying to look at the couple sitting beside her.

"Oh, sweetheart, everything's going to be okay, you just need to stay in the bed and get some rest. Tommy, go and get the doctor, and tell him that she's awake," Maria says, looking at Tommy now, and pushing him out of the room, to hurry him. "Now you need to-"

"Stop telling... me what to do... and tell me where is… JOEL!" says Ellie with an angry voice.

"Oh, Ellie, a lot has happened in the last two days, and you've been unconscious since they found you in the river," says Maria, trying to calm down the angry girl in front of her.

"WHAT!... Two days... I've been in bed for two days… where's Joel? I want to see him… NOW!" Ellie yells at Maria while she tries to stand up from the bed.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" says the doctor as soon as he enters the room, with Tommy behind him.

"I'm in the clinic?... where's Joel? Is he in here, too? Is he injured too?" Ellie starts to ask a little impatiently, when the doctor gets close to her and starts to examine her.

"He's not here, Ellie. What's the last thing you remember?" asks Tommy with a sad expression.

"The river, and what do you mean he's not here… so where is he?"

Tommy gets close to Maria and starts to explain to Ellie all they know about what happened after they found her floating in the river close to the dam. The doctor continues examining her patiently, while Ellie continues moving, trying to pay attention to Tommy's tale. He tells her about the search, and that they haven't found any clues or anything up there for the past two days. The rain that's been coming down for the past two days is making it impossible to find any possible clues up there.

After Tommy finishes, he asks her if she remembers what happened up there. When the doctor finishes, he tells them that she seems okay for the moment, and that she doesn't have any fractures or any other symptoms in the head, but she is probably going to suffer some dizziness and pain for the next few days, so he wants her in the clinic until she finishes her recovery. As soon as he says that, he leaves the room and tells Maria that he's going to send Rose with some pills for the pain. Ellie quickly crosses her arms in front of her chest and makes an angry face when she hears the nurse's name.

After the doctor is gone, she starts to tell Maria and Tommy what happened, how these men came from nowhere and attacked them, how many she saw. She tells them how Joel managed to kill one of them but the man managed to cut him in the leg and how they had to run after the others started to chase them. She tells them that they followed them to a waterfall cliff on the river, and that the last thing she remembers is Joel pushing her off the cliff into the lower part of the river. And that Joel told her to go for help. Of course, she doesn't mention the kisses they shared up there, and when she finishes, Tommy and Maria can see some tears in her eyes.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, we're going to find him, I promise, okay?" says Maria, trying to comfort her.

"Yeah, don't worry, with the information you gave us, we can now check other possibilities and try to find new clues. You just stay here and get better - we're going to find him, okay?" Tommy then takes Maria into a corner of the room and asks her if she can stay with Ellie for a while, and make sure that she stays in bed. After that, he leaves the room and Maria goes back to sit in the chair beside the bed.

 ***24 hours earlier, deep in the Forest***

Joel tries to open his eyes, with a pain in the back of his head. He remembers when he woke up the first time here in this same room: that they started asking him questions, and after a few hours of asking him, and punching him everywhere, he finally went unconscious. But now he's waking up again, not knowing how long he's been there... the place looks like a little room, but has no window or internal light, just one candle on a table in the corner of the room, and two chairs. For some reason, they attended his wound and stopped the bleeding on his leg, so he assumes that they want him alive, at least for the moment.

He's still wearing the same shirt that he had on when he was in the lake, but they gave him some pants to put on when they started to interrogate him. They tied his hands with a rope and hung him from the ceiling. The door is closed, but he knows that they're coming back soon because they didn't leave any guards in there. He doesn't care much what they're going to do to him; his only comfort is that at least Ellie must be safely back in Jackson by now.

A familiar sound can be heard in the room. Then the door is opened, and two men enter the room and close the door.

"Oh, a si que este es el cabrón viejo, que mató a mi primo?" says one of the guards, getting close to Joel.

"Yes, he is, but Lukas wants him alive. But he didn't say anything about having a little fun with him, right? A si que tienes 5 minutos, con el," says the other man, pointing at Joel.

"Si esto sera por Raúl, hijo de perra." After that, the man starts to hit Joel. First in the face - that makes him bleed a little from his mouth. Then he starts to hit him in the stomach: one-two, one- two, just like he's a punching bag. Joel tries to keep his mouth shut, but he can feel the new pain flaring up again in his body.

"A ver si te gusta esto cabron. Eso te dolió, hijo de la Puta?" says the guy, punching Joel in the face again.

"Phfffff…." Joel turns around and spits some blood on the ground. Then he looks back at the guy that is punching him. "Ha, ha, I think that my grandma hits harder than you, asshole," says Joel with a little smile on his face.

"Que carajo dijo?" the furious guy asks the other one, standing close to the door.

After a few moments, the sound of the door being opened can be heard again, and a new person enters the room.

"What the hell you two doin'? I told you to bring him some water, not start hitting him again, you stupid assholes!" says Lukas as he enters the room. "Now you two idiots get him down from there, and put him in the chair."

Then the two men start to protest, but they do what Lukas said - they take Joel down from his current position and sit him in the chair. When they finish securing him to the chair, he already has one black eye and some cuts on his face and lips. When they finish tying his arms to the chair, they move away.

Lukas takes the bottle of water from one of the guys and puts it on the table, takes the other chair with one hand, and then looks to the other guys in the room.

"Now, you two get out and close the door," says Lukas while he puts the chair down in front of Joel.

He goes and sits in the chair, takes the bottle from the table and opens it, and when he tries to offer a Joel a drink, Joel turns his head to the side.

"No thank you, I'm not thirsty," Joel says in a lower, painful voice.

"What! You think that the water is poisoned?" Then Lukas takes the bottle to his mouth and starts to drink, and after a few seconds, he puts the bottle down. "Man, if I wanted to kill you, I'd just let those two assholes beat you to death. Because the man that you killed up there in that little lake was the cousin of one of these men."

"If you don't want… to kill me… why'd you bring me here? Because whatever you do… I'm not going… to tell you anything," says Joel, spilling more blood to the floor.

"Well, I don't need you to talk for now, so let me do the talking here. You don't know who we are, but I know who you are, and that little girl that was with you up there. So if you think that she's safe in that town of yours, you're mistaken. My boss has been looking for you and that girl for years, and he's going to destroy that town, just to get her."

"I don't care who you are, but if you think… that I'm going to help you, you're fucking crazy," says Joel.

"Well, you should, if you want to save the life of all the people living in that town," the man says, standing up from the chair. "How many people live in there, 200?... 300? And I assume that more than half are women and children," says Lukas, drinking the water and pulling the chair away.

"I don't know if you're crazy, or stupid... if you're planning to attack the town, you're going to get fucked. And after you kidnapped me, they probably doubled the security in there," says Joel with a little smile on his face.

"Yeah, I know. And you want to know how I know? Well, the same way I know that you and your young girl were in that little lake up there," says the man, drinking from the bottle. "We've been watching that town for months, and when one of our scouts came back with the news of an old man and a girl up there alone in that lake, I decided to check that out myself. And lucky me - the two people I found are the two people my boss is looking for "

"Who the fuck are you, anyway?... And if you think that the people of that town are not already looking for me, you are wrong," says Joel in a serious tone.

"Oh, don't worry, I know they're looking for you - that's why I made sure that they followed the wrong track. They're going to be looking for you in the wrong places, and when they've figured that out, it's going to be too late for them."

"I don't care what you think - they're going to find you and your fucking gang and kill you all," says Joel.

"I just want the girl and you, so if you help me, I can guarantee you that we will spare the rest of the people in that town," says Lukas, pacing in front of Joel, impatient.

"Well, if that is… the case, then you just kill me now, because I'm not going to help you. And if you dare to put a hand on that girl, I'm going to kill all of you myself," says Joel, spitting more blood in front of the man.

"Well, I hope that you change your mind before my boss comes back, because he's not as rational as I am. And believe me, he's going to destroy that town and kill everyone, just to get one person."

"And who is your fucking boss?" asks Joel curiously.

"Well, that is for me to know and you to find out. But don't worry, you will know him soon enough, and you're going to be surprised," says Lukas, walking to the door. "I'll leave one guard outside the door. If you change your mind, just inform the guard." After he opens the door, he looks at Joel and then closes the door.

 ***Back to Jackson with Ellie***

Four days… four days have passed that she's been trapped there, in that room. The doctor said that she needs some time to heal, that she has some busted ribs, and that the injury to her head needs time to heal too. Even though the wound didn't cause any permanent damage, she needs to be careful and that she was only going to have a little scar there. _Like I care about that!_ He said too that the bruises on her body and the pain would last for a few more weeks, and that she was lucky that she didn't have any broken bones. _Lucky… how am I lucky if they haven't found Joel yet?! So I don't care what the doctor said, or why Maria and Tommy try to keep me here, doing nothing. I'm fine! - and what I really need is to go out there and help to find Joel._

It's time for her to do something, to get out of there. She heard that that pregnant woman who was there two weeks ago is in early labor, so Dr. Wilson and that... Rose, went out to her home to assist with the labor. He told her to stay in bed and that he is going to send someone to watch her. _I'm glad that bitch Rose is gone. She's been asking me for Joel since I woke up - what the fuck is wrong with that woman? Why is she so interested in Joel?! It's a shame that I can't tell her that Joel isn't interested in her, that Joel kissed me on the lips. That we almost had sex at that lake, if it wasn't for those motherfuckers that took him from me. I wish that I could tell her that Joel doesn't want to be with her, and that he's all mine, so why does she continue asking for him like she's his girlfriend or something._

So she gets out of bed and checks the little closet in the room, but there are no clothes in there. They took her clothes off... _why? and why am I now in a long t-shirt and my underwear. Why did they take my clothes off in the first place, and- shit! I don't have any clothes on me - I was swimming in my bikini and Joel put that bloody shirt on me before… Okay, if they think that this is going to hold me here for long? They are wrong, because I'm getting out of here, even like this if I have to._

Ellie takes the bed cover and wraps it around herself, covering her body, and starts to walk to the door. When she is about to open the door, it opens - and a familiar face shows up in front of her.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" asks Jenna as soon as she sees Ellie in front of her.

"JENNA!... what the hell are you doing here?" asks Ellie, jumping back with a surprised expression.

"I was on my way here to check on you, when I ran into the doctor and he asked me to watch you until he comes back. I came a few days ago, but you were unconscious, and they didn't let me in, and after all that crazy in the streets, seems like they're preparing for a war," says Jenna, entering the room now.

"Well, that's a possibility, after those hunters attacked us out there," Ellie says with a sad expression.

"Yeah, I know... sorry about Joel, I heard that they're still looking for him. Do you think that he's okay? I know what he means to you, and-" Jenna is interrupted.

"He is alive... I know it, and if Tommy and his people don't find him, I will," Ellie says with a firm voice. "Now I need to get to my house and change, and see if Tommy and Maria have any news."

"They want you to rest and heal, so I don't think they're going to be happy if you leave the clinic without permission from the doctor," says Jenna.

"I'm fine - I just need to go home and put some clean clothes on and check if anyone has any news on Joel," says Ellie, now walking out of the room.

"Okay, I'll go with you if you think that you're okay, but when the doctor finds out that you're not here, I'll deny that I was here when you got out," says Jenna, following her out.

"Well, that's fine with me - I just need to get out of here," Ellie says to Jenna, leaving the clinic with Jenna behind her.

They walk through the town streets on the way to Joel and Ellie's house, and Jenna was right: there's so much activity out there. Seems like some people are preparing themselves; the town is now on alert since Joel's disappearance. Tommy and Maria are waiting for the hunters to attack soon. After twenty minutes, they arrive at the house. Ellie feels the emptiness of the house; she's been there alone before, but this time it's different because she knows that Joel is not coming back soon.

Jenna waits in the kitchen when Ellie goes upstairs to put some clothes on. Jenna knows how Ellie feels about Joel, and she saw some tears on her face as soon as they entered the house. Jenna hopes that they find Joel soon, because if something happens to him, she doesn't know what is going to happen to Ellie. After a few minutes, Ellie comes down and walks to the kitchen.

"Okay, I'm ready, let's go and find Tommy to check if he has any information on the search," says Ellie as soon as she enters the kitchen.

"Tommy?... he's not going to be happy to see you out of the clinic, and as soon as he sees you he's going to send you back there," says Jenna.

"Well, I'm fine, and I'm not going to stay there forever. I need to know what's going to happen with Joel, so let's go," says Ellie, grabbing Jenna's arm and dragging her out of the house.

Ellie and Jenna are walking on the way to Tommy`s house when they run into a familiar face.

"Brad!" Jenna exclaims as soon as she sees the teen boy getting close to them.

"Hi! I was going to look for you in the clinic - your mother told me that you were there," says Brad.

"Yeah, I was there, but I had to go with Ellie to her house. But why are you looking for me?" asks Jenna, looking at him curiously.

"Oh, I heard that Maria is conducting an emergency meeting this afternoon to talk about the possibility of some hunters attacking. Then I heard about Mr. Miller disappearing, and that Ellie was in the clinic," explains Brad to Jenna.

"Dude, all that happened four days ago, and now you know that? Well, I don't know about the meeting, but the rest... really?" says Jenna, incredulous.

"Sorry, I was sick for the last five days, some kind of virus, and the doctor said that I have to be in bed all the time. Your mom knows that. She didn't tell you?" says Brad apologetically.

"Oh yeah, I think that she did, I think I forgot. But that doesn't explain why you-"

"Listen, guys, I don't want to be rude, but I need to go find Tommy, so if you two want to talk, I'll get going alone," Ellie says and starts walking.

"No! It's okay, I'll go with you. Okay, I'll talk to you later, Brad; we have something to do," says Jenna, starting to walk away from Brad.

"Okay, but if you're looking for Tommy, he's not at his house. I saw him go out on my way here," says Brad, walking close to the two girls now.

"Okay... so you know where he went?" asks Jenna.

"No!... he was walking in the direction-" Brad gets interrupted.

"Hey... they're back… they're back," says a young boy running close to them.

"Hey... Hey, stop," says Jenna, grabbing the boy's arm and stopping him. "Who is back?" Jenna asks the boy.

"The patrol… they're at the front gate right now, they just arrived," says the boy.

"Joel!" is all that Ellie says, and then she starts running out to the front gate.

When she arrives, she sees that the patrol has already dismounted their horses. Ellie approaches the group and starts to look for Joel; when she doesn't see him, she gets close to one of them and starts to question them.

"Hey!... What happened - Are you the ones that were looking for Joel Miller?" Ellie asks one

of the men.

"Yes, we are, why?" says the man who is talking with Ellie.

"Well I see that you didn't find him, so why are you back here?" Ellie asks the man again.

"We didn't find any more tracks that we followed way north... it's no use - we see that they used a vehicle after they passed the tall tree out there… it was too hard to continue, so we couldn't follow any trail after that. So Alb-" the man is interrupted.

"I decided it was time to come back, and all this is none of your business, kid," says Albert, getting in front of Ellie.

"Listen, you ass, Joel is still out there, so this _is_ my fucking business - when are you going out there, or sending another group?" asks Ellie, while Jenna and Brad arrive at the gate.

"Oh, right, you're the old man's little brat. Sorry, but I'm not going to send anyone else out there," says Albert.

"WHAT!... Joel is still out there, so you need to continue the search. And besides, that decision is Tommy and Maria's, not yours, motherfucker," says Ellie, now furious.

"Listen, you little fuck, your old man is gone. He's probably dead, or he decided to go with the hunters and help them - maybe he told them how to attack the town, and if that's the case, it's better if he doesn`t show up here because I'm going to be the first one to shoot him in the head," says Albert to Ellie and starts to walk away, indicating to the others to follow him.

"Hey… what the hell did you say?" asks Ellie, getting close to Albert.

"Oh, you heard me - I think he's better with his own kind, and- AAhhhhh…" Albert screams as Ellie gets closer to him and kicks him in the balls. He quickly falls to the ground, holding his crotch with his two hands and screaming in pain.

"You bitch! Ahhhhhh…"

"Take that, asshole, and if you talk about Joel again that way, I'm not just going to kick your balls," says Ellie, getting closer to him, with a furious face.

"What the hell is going on here?" asks Tommy as soon as he arrives at the scene and sees all the commotion.

"That little... bitch... just… kicked me… in my balls!" answers Albert, still in pain on the ground.

"Ellie! Why did you do that?" asks Tommy, getting close to Albert.

"That coward is calling off the search, and he's saying bad things about Joel too, that aren't true," Ellie answers Tommy, pointing to Albert on the ground.

"Shit… you didn't have to do that - I agreed with Albert on bringing all the men back to town," says Tommy, trying to help Albert up.

"You did what? You called the search off… I can't believe... this is Joel… your brother is the one who's out there, and you aren't going to continue the search?" says Ellie to Tommy with an angry tone.

"Yes, I know that Joel is the one out there. I'd do the same if it was one of the citizens of this town. There's no preferential treatment here. We looked for him for four days and we didn't find anything, and now we need to be prepared if these people come to attack us," says Tommy to Ellie.

"So you`re going to sit here, when Joel is still out there, and do nothing?" says Ellie accusingly.

"That's enough, young lady - I will let this slide because I know that you're worried for Joel and you're not well. We did all we could to find him, but he's not the only one who lives here, and by the way, what are you doing out of the clinic?" asks Tommy with a firm tone.

"I'm fine, and I don't need to stay in bed all day just for some bruises. And if you aren't going to do anything to find Joel, then I will, so open the gate," says Ellie, moving to the guy close to the gate.

"You`re not going anywhere. John, take Ellie back to the clinic and make sure th-" Tommy is interrupted.

"Sorry, sir, but the doctor's not in the clinic. He and the nurse had to go to an emergency. But I can take her home," says Jenna while getting close to Ellie.

"Okay, take her back to Joel's house and stay there with her," says Tommy to Jenna. "And you two, take Albert back to his house so he can put some ice on that."

Jenna grabs Ellie's arm and starts to walk out of there, with Brad following her. Tommy talks to the people there and tells them that the show is over and that everyone needs to go back to their posts. Jenna escorts Ellie back to her house - Ellie protesting all the way there, of course. When they arrive at the house, Jenna tells Brad that she'll talk to him later, and enters the house with Ellie.

"What the fuck was that, and are you on Tommy's side too, now?" Ellie accuses Jenna as soon as she closes the door and the two girls are alone.

"Ellie, you need to calm down, okay, I know what all this means to you. And I'm sure that Tommy and Maria are doing all they can to help Joel. Now I'll make some tea for you. That will help you to relax, okay?" says Jenna while helping Ellie sit at the kitchen table.

"Jenna, I'm sorry, I shouldn't snap at you. I know that you want to help me. But I can't stay here and do nothing when I know that Joel is out there with… those men," says Ellie with some tears forming in her eyes.

"I know, don't worry - Maria and Tommy are going to find him, you'll see," says Jenna. Jenna prepares the tea and gives the cup to Ellie. After a few hours, Ellie is asleep on the couch when Jenna hears someone knocking at the door. Jenna stands up from a chair and goes to the door. As soon as she opens it, she sees Brad standing in front of it.

"Brad! What are you doing here? I told you that we can talk later," says Jenna in a lower voice.

"I know, but the town meeting is about to start, and your mom wants you there," says Brad.

"Shit… I can't leave Ellie alone now," says Jenna, looking back to the couch.

"She's sleeping, right? So you can come, and come back here later. It's not like she's going anywhere."

"Okay, I'll leave her a note so she knows that I'll come back later." After she writes the note, she and Brad leave the house and go to the town meeting.

After a few hours, Ellie wakes up and finds Jenna`s note. _I feel so bad, not for the little pain I still feel from my injury, just feel so bad because Joel is out there and I can't do anything._ She is on the way up to her room when she hears the front door open, then she sees Maria and Jenna coming in. They stay for an hour; Maria tells her the reason they had to call off the search for now and that they need to be prepared. She talks to Ellie until Ellie tells her that she's tired and that her head hurts a little, and she needs some sleep. Maria says okay and leaves. Jenna tries to stay, but Ellie tells her that she's fine and that she just needs some sleep.

After they leave the house, Ellie goes upstairs to Joel's room to find some of his guns. _Those motherfuckers took my Joel and my mother's pocketknife, and I'm going to find them both._ After that, she goes to her room and changes her clothing, and prepares some supplies for her trip. _If they're not going to continue looking for him, I will._ After she finishes, she lays down on the bed to get some rest. She has to wait until early in the morning anyway to get out of town.

She wakes up a few hours later, but it's still dark outside. It's early in the morning, so she gathers her things, and leaves the house. She is lucky: at this time of the morning, it's still dark, and there aren't many people in the street, just the guard on the wall and towers, so it's going to be easy to sneak around the town without getting noticed. After an hour, she finds what she's looking for; last year, she found a place where the security is minimal and the fence is weak. She uses that to get out of town sometimes, as no one come to this part of the town, so now she can use that to get out of town without going to any of the town gates, and go to find Joel.

With all the people occupied preparing the town for an attack, they won't notice her absence. After half an hour, she makes sure that no one is following her. She gets out of town and starts to walk through the forest, on the way to the dam. _I will go to the little lake - that's the last place I know Joel was. Then I'll go up north from there. They said that they found some tracks going up north into the mountain. That's the only clue they found, so that's the one I'm going to follow from now on. I know that Joel is alive... even when they try to tell me that it's possible he's dead._

Ellie walks for a while in the forest on her way up. It was an hour on horseback, so on foot, it's going to take at least double that. She is thinking about Joel when she hears something close by. She takes her gun out and asks who's there... _I hope that it's not any patrol from Jackson._

"It's okay, girl, you can lower your gun, I'm not going to hurt you, okay?" says a man, walking out of some trees.

"Bob? Is that you?" asks Ellie without lowering her gun.

"Yes, it's me, so you don't need to point that gun at me," says Bob, getting close to Ellie.

"How did you find me? Did Tommy or Maria send you? And how did you know I was out here, anyway? Did they send you to take me back, because if they did, you can tell them that I'm not coming back until I find Joel - do you understand?" says Ellie, still pointing the gun at him.

"To answer you, I know that you're here because I was following you, and no, they didn't send me to get you - I came here to help you," says Bob.

"I don't need your help, I can do this on my own," says Ellie with a confident tone.

"Well, I think you do if you're going in that direction," says Bob, pointing at the way to the dam.

"Why do you say that? It's up there where they found the tracks, isn't it?" says Ellie.

"That's what they want us to believe, but I think I know where they are, and if you come with us, maybe we can still save your friend."

"What do you mean by 'us'?" asks Ellie.

"Okay, all of you, you can come out now," says Bob, turning his head and looking to the trees behind.

As Ellie looks to the trees, she sees Jenna, Brad, and Dylan with 3 horses coming out of the trees. Ellie just stays there looking at them, not believing that they all came to help her.

"How?... And why?" Ellie starts to ask them.

"It was Jenna's idea!" answer Dylan and Brad at the same time.

"Yeah… it was my idea. I knew that you were going to do something like this after Maria talked to you last night, so I looked for Bob and asked him to follow you if you left the house. Then I found Dylan and asked if he would help us find Joel, and he said yes. So as soon as Bob told us that you left, we grabbed some guns and supplies and followed you here," explains Jenna.

"And how did all of you get out of town, and with horses?" asks Ellie.

"Well, that was Dylan's doing. He told the guards on the east gate that we were going on patrol - he gave them a note from Tommy authorizing our departure. The guards were the Stone brothers. Lucky for us they're not very brilliant, so they let us pass," says Jenna.

"Okay, we're wasting time, so we need to move. Jenna and Brad go on one horse, Dylan and Ellie on the other one, I'll take the young one," says Bob, indicating to all of them to get to the horses and start on their way in the opposite direction.

"Hey, Bob, you said that you know where they are, so why didn't you tell Maria or Tommy?" asks Dylan.

"Because it's just a hunch I had when I followed that track they left yesterday. And the only place they can hide for so long is that old factory where we found Harold. I'm not sure if they're there, but it's the only clue I have," says Bob.

"Well, I hope that you're right, because we need to rescue Joel as soon as possible, and thank you all for coming to help me," says Ellie.

"Don't worry, Ellie, we're going to find him, promise," says Jenna. After that, they continue on their way to the river.

( a few hours later in the old factory deep in the forest)

The people in the old factory in the forest are moving around, carrying some boxes and preparing their guns. They received a communication an hour ago informing them that their boss is on the way, so they need to be ready when he arrives.

"Move, you idiots, we need to have everything ready to go as soon as the boss comes here," says Brandon to all the men in front of him.

After 10 minutes, a sound of some vehicles approaching from the south of the old road that leads to the old factory can be heard now. When the vehicles enter the complex, you can see: 1 black and 1 dark blue pickup and 2 medium cargo trucks, like the old Budget ones. Brandon moves quickly to the side of the dark blue pickup, and waits for the occupant to get out of the vehicle.

"Where is he?" asks Michael as soon as he gets out of the car.

"He's in your regular place on the second floor, boss," answers Brandon.

"Okay, I want you to help my new guests with the new equipment we brought in, okay?"

"Don't worry, boss, I will handle that; the rest of the group are almost ready to go," says Brandon.

"That's great to know - we need to do this as soon as possible, before they get more time to be prepared. Now go and start to get things ready," Michael says and starts walking to the small building.

After a few minutes, Michael walks into a room with a big glass window, and sees Lukas standing there looking to the distant forest. As soon as he hears someone enter the room, Lukas turns around to see who it is, but the man is approaching him too quickly.

"Hey boss, I have great news f-" he is cut off when a hand grabs his throat.

"You fucking idiot, do you know what you've done - do you want to ruin everything?" says Michael with a hard voice.

"What do you mean?... I have what… you want...rgghh… they don't….rgghh… know...anything…please," Lukas tries to explain, running out of air, then Michael lets him go.

"You didn't get me anything, because if you did, the girl would be here, too. And now they're going to know that we're going to attack them, you fool," says Michael, getting away from Lukas, who puts one hand on a desk and the other on his neck, trying to get some air back.

"They don't know that we're here, I made sure-" - his speech is punctuated by a couple of coughs, making him pause to clear his throat- "-of that, you don't need to worry about… that," says Lukas, now more normal.

"That doesn't matter now - we're going to attack as soon as we're ready," says Michael, now looking at Lukas.

"Sir… that's going to be so risky now. Why don't we use the old man to get the girl? That way we don't need-" Lukas is cut off.

"Shut up - how do you even know that this man is the one I'm looking for? And you think that we can use him to get the girl?"

"It's him, I'm sure of it. He fits the description and the age. Also, he was with a girl that fits the description, too," says Lukas, trying to explain.

"Well, if that's true, then we need to move fast. I need that girl now more than ever. I made a deal with the Fireflies. That's why I got here so late."

"A deal, sir? With them?" asks Lukas with a worried expression.

"Yeah, a deal! They gave me some weapons, more military stuff, and gave me five men to use. And that's why the attack is going to have a better chance now," Michael explains.

"But, Sir… we can't trust these people, and I know you want the girl, too, so you're going to hand her over to them?" asks Lukas with a surprised face.

"The weapons aren't the only thing they're offering, and they say that the girl is going to die after they finish with her. So it's going to be a win-win, and I still have the old man - and I can do whatever I want with him."

"Michael, I don't think that's going to be a good idea, to make a deal with those people - they're worse than the military. It's better if-" He is cut off again when Michael points a finger at him.

"I don't care what your opinion is. The deal is done, and now that I know that the girl is here, I can deliver on my part of the deal. So now, where did you put that old man?" Michael asks with a serious tone.

"We have him in the dark room… sir," answers Lukas.

"Okay, good, so I think it's time to go and meet our honored guest." Saying that, Michael walks out of the room.

After a few minutes, the two men get to the front of the small room and talk to the guy that is guarding the door. Lukas tells him to open the door and let them in. As he obeys quickly, he opens the door and lets them enter the room.

As Joel hears the door open, he lifts up his head. He can't see anything; they blindfolded him after giving him some more hits on his body. He is still tied up in the chair without any food and they just gave him a little water. He can't tell how long he's been there because the little room doesn't have a window, so he can't tell if it's day or night.

"Well, well, well… so this is the famous killer… umm. He doesn't look like much to me now that I can see him in person. But please, I need our honored guest to look at me when I speak, so Lukas, can you please take that thing off of his face?" says Michael, now moving around in front of the chair.

"Sure, boss," says Lukas while he moves close to Joel and takes the blindfold off his face.

"Well, that's better. Shit, I can see now that my boys haven't been so kind to you. That's a bit of a shame. Somehow I wish that I was here first, when they found you, but you can still see, right?"

"So you are... the boss?" Joel says in a lower voice as he tries to clear his good eye, and tries to see the person in front of him more clearly.

"Bingo!... Well, at least we know that he's got brains. So now that you can see me, can you recognize my face... umm?" says Michael, coming closer to Joel's face so he can see him better.

"No! I've never seen you before in my life," says Joel to the man in front of him.

"No!... Well, that's a surprise - some people tell me that I look a lot like my brother. Isn't that true, my friend?" says Michael, stepping away from Joel and looking now to Lukas.

"Yes, boss, you do," answers Lukas.

"See!... maybe you know my name, then... my name is Michael… No? That doesn't ring a bell, either?" says Michael with a little smile on his face.

"Listen, if this is some kind… of revenge… of something I did a long time ago… why don't you just finish with me and-" Joel starts to say when he gets interrupted.

"Well, revenge is just part of it, but the fun part is, that I want you to know who I'm going to avenge… and I see that you can't even remember all the people you killed, so that says something. Maybe I have to refresh your memory a little. You see, you entered a town like a little more than two years ago and killed a lot of people there, but the most important thing is that you killed my brother. So… now, I see that you don't even remember his face, but maybe you can remember his name, and his name was… David!"


	18. The Past Comes Back to Haunt You Part-1

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

* * *

 **Chapter 18 : The Past Comes Back to Haunt You Part-1**

 ***In the Forest Complex***

"David!... you're David's brother?" asks Joel with a surprised expression.

"Oh, so you do remember his name... well, I suppose that you can't recognize his face after you cut that out with a machete and let him burn in that restaurant building, right?" says Michael, moving around and gesturing with his hand.

"Yeah, well, your brother… was a motherfucking creep… so if you want revenge, here I am - you can do whatever you want, and go back to whatever fucking place you came from," says Joel with an aggressive tone.

"Oh, you think it's so simple? I know that you weren't alone there - I'm going to get that little girl of yours, too," says Michael, getting close to Joel now.

"Listen, you motherfucker, she doesn't have anything to do with this, so keep her out of this. You already got me, so just finish it," says Joel, a little angrier now.

"Oh, don't worry, we'll get to that soon - you not only killed my brother in that town, but also a lot of other people. And I don't think that you're very popular with the Fireflies, either. I hear that one of their new leaders is looking for you two. So you see, I already made a deal with them: I'm going to give them that little girl of yours - for a great price, of course - and they're going to let me keep you for my entertainment pleasure," says Michael with a little smile.

"You are as stupid as your brother was - she's safe in the town, and if you think that your little group is going to stand a chance in going in there, you're going to regret that," says Joel.

"Oh, is that what you think? Don't worry about that, the people of that little town… a long way south of here… what was it called? Hey, Lukas, do you remember the name of the town?" asks Michael, looking at Lukas now.

"Well, I don't remember much… but I think it was… Springs something… yeah... Rock Springs... I think that was the name," answers Lukas.

"Yeah, I think that was the name... we took that pretty easy. They're going to provide food for us for a very long time. So the little group of Fireflies that came with me is going to take the girl with them, and I'm going to enjoy destroying that town of yours. Oh, don't worry, I'll let you live enough for to you see all that, old man. Then I'm going to enjoy killing you slowly, ha, ha, ha!" Then he moves away from Joel and starts to walk toward the door.

"I'm going to tell you something - you better kill me now, because if you touch a single hair on that girl's head, I'm going to kill you slow and painful, just like your fucking brother, do you hear me?" Joel threatens as he tries to move his hand and break the ropes.

"Oh, that is… going to be... well, something interesting to see. Enjoy your stay for the time being. I'll come back later. I have some plans to make now... you know, a town to destroy! People to kill… you know, the usual things," Michael says as he leaves the room with Lukas.

(one hour later)

After the talk with the prisoner, Michael returns to his so-called office in another part of the building. He is sitting at a desk, checking the final preparations for the attack, when he hears a knock at the door.

"It's Sgt. Jayson, sir. He wants to speak with you," says a man entering the room.

"Okay, let him in," he tells the man and stands up from the chair.

Then he walks and stops in front of the big glass window. The Firefly soldier walks in and stops in front of his desk.

"Is there something I can do for you, Sergeant?" asks Michael, turning his head around and looking at the man in the room.

"Yes, I think there is... I was sent here to assist you in finding the girl. Not to get involved in your little war game here," says Jayson.

"Well, that's exactly what we're doing here, Sergeant - the girl that you're looking for is in that town. So that's why I need you there, to make sure that you get her alive."

"I've seen the diagram of the town, and trying to take a big town like this is going to be difficult."

"Don't worry, my plan has worked before. After we start the distraction, you and your men can enter the town and look for the girl. I assume that your boys are trained enough to handle something like this," says Michael as he stands up and moves around the room.

"Even with the weapons we brought for you, this is going to be difficult, and our new boss isn't going to be pleased if all this goes wrong," says Jayson.

"Nothing will go wrong, my new friend. Your boss is going to be pleased when he has the girl, okay? I've done this several times and we haven't had many problems. Everything's going to go as I planned," says Michael, sitting at the desk again.

"Well, I hope for your own sake that this goes well, because you know what the consequences are going to be," says the soldier.

"If you and your men are as good as your boss said, that means that we're not going to have any problems with the attack, okay? We're going to take care of the main resistance there. The only thing you need to do is go inside and get the girl. Now if you don't have any more complaints, just go and prepare your men, because mine are going to leave in a few hours," says Michael.

"Fine, we'll be ready as soon as your men are, but keep in mind that if something goes wrong or you try to betray us, it's not going to end well for you or your people." With that, the man turns around and leaves the room.

After the man is gone, Michael gets up from the chair and stands in front of the window. "Soon, my brother… soon I'm going to avenge you, and all these people are going to pay," Michael says to himself and smiles.

(One hour later in the forest)

After they ride all the way to the south river, they stop to rest at the old houses close to the river, the same ones where Harold`s patrol was ambushed by the infected a month ago. After they eat some food, Bob tells them that it's better to leave the horses there and go the rest of the way on foot. He says that if the people who took Joel are there, they probably have guards watching the area, and the horses are going to attract too much attention, so it's better if they arrive there on foot.

"Man, we've been walking for more than an hour, and he said that the trip to that place takes like two hours on horseback. That means that this is going to take us at least double that," says Brad, now walking beside Dylan.

"Yeah, that's correct, but he knows what he's doing, and we need to be sure they don't sees us when we arrive there," answers Dylan.

"And speaking of Bob, where is he? I last saw him like fifteen minutes ago, and he was just in front of us," asks Brad, looking side to side.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, he likes to do that sometimes. I know it's kind of creepy, but he's good at this. Sooo... can I ask you what made you come with us? Not that we don't appreciate the help, but I'm a friend of Joel's... well, kind of... and Bob helped him once, so him being here makes some sense, and Jenna is Ellie's friend so that's somewhat acceptable. I think that she shouldn't be here anyway, or Ellie. Jenna's only eighteen, and a girl, and this is going to be a little dangerous, but with you, I don't see the connection, or the why," Dylan asks Brad with curiosity.

"Yeah, you're right, she shouldn't be here - her mother's going to be really mad when she finds out she went outside the town. I just… want to keep an eye on her… and make sure that nothing bad happens," answers Brad, kicking some rocks on the ground while they walk.

"Oh, okay… so you just want to keep your girlfriend safe!" says Dylan, smiling.

"Yeah, that- wait, what! No... no… she's not my girlfriend," Brad says in a lower voice.

"Really? Because I can see that you like her, and that makes you being here more reasonable," Dylan says, clearly amused.

"Will you stop saying that? ...and please lower your voice. If she hears you, I'm going to be in a lot of trouble, okay?" says Brad, almost whispering to Dylan.

"Oh, so she doesn't know that you like her? Okay, don't worry, kid, your secret's safe with me," says Dylan back.

"Will you stop, please?... I already told you that she and I… we don't have any relationship, okay."

"Whatever you say, kid, but I think that you should at least tell her that you have some feelings for her. Life is short sometimes, you know," says Dylan, smiling at him.

Ellie and Jenna are walking just a few feet behind the boys, not hearing what they're talking about. The two girls just started following them since Bob disappeared and they don't know where to go. So they have to follow Dylan now, since he is the only one left that knows where the place is.

"Ellie, are you okay? You haven't said a thing since we started walking from those old houses," says Jenna, walking beside Ellie.

"I don't know, I just… was thinking about Joel… why did he do that, I don't understand?" Ellie says in a lower voice.

"What do you mean?"

"Push me down off that cliff… I was a little mad about that, but... why didn't he just let me help him. I think I know why he did it, but If I was with him… maybe those people wouldn't have taken him," says Ellie a bit miserably.

"He did that to keep you safe… I think he was trying to protect you... well, you almost drowned, but he knew that you were going to make it and that you'd be safe when you got to the dam," says Jenna, putting her arm over Ellie's shoulder.

"I should be more pissed about that, but I can't be - I just want him back safe. It's been five days since they attacked us, and I'm just hoping that he's still alive," says Ellie, some tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Ellie, we're going to find him, okay? From all that you've told me, I know that he is going to be fine," says Jenna, trying to give Ellie some comfort.

"I know that everyone tries to say to me that he's okay, and everything's going to be fine. But it's not - you didn't see his face when he kissed me and said goodbye... it's like he was saying goodbye forever, and that made me feel-"

"Ellie, he just- What? He kissed you? On the mouth? Why didn't you tell me that before?" Jenna starts to ask with a surprised face.

"I don't know... because Joel is missing and I spent four days in the fucking clinic? And you want to talk about that?... sorry, I don't mean to snap, it's just-"

"Ellie, it's okay, we can talk about that later, when we all get back to Jackson safe and sound, okay?" says Jenna.

"I just want to… that all of this was just a bad dream. But I really want to thank you, for coming to help me, and convincing the others," says Ellie with some tears in her eyes.

"Ellie, we're going to find him, okay?" says Jenna while they're still walking, waiting for Bob to come back.

 ***At the same time in Jackson***

Back in Jackson, Maria and Tommy were giving instruction to the people so they can be prepared for any impending attack on the town. The town has been in a little chaos, people running from place to place, doubling the guards on the wall, and things like that. Maria is now more in charge of preparing the people and Tommy more in the security and preparing the guards for any attack, so he goes to the armory to get everything set.

"Okay, John, I want you and a few other men to help on moving all the ammunition to different places. And we have to identify some of the key places that we need to protect the most," says Tommy to John and a few men in front of him.

"Sure, Tommy, we can do that, but don't you think that those people that attacked your brother five days ago are gone by now?" asks John.

"Yeah, that's a possibility, but the way Ellie described how those men acted, it's too much to be just a small attack, so it's pos-" Tommy is cut off.

"Tommy, we need to talk!" says Albert as soon as he gets close to Tommy.

"Albert? I thought that Maria sent you to the dam already, with the security group?" asks Tommy, looking at him now.

"Well, first, I want to know what you're going to do about that little brat that lives with your brother? And second, I just came from the stables and there's three horses missing," says Albert with a hard voice.

"Okay, guys, back to work, and John, I want a report at my house in two hours, okay?" says Tommy, moving away from the place.

"Tommy! What are you going to do about the girl?" Albert asks again.

"What do you want me to do? I already sent her back to her house, and Maria talked to her, so I don't see why you're still complaining about that? And what did you say about missing horses?" says Tommy while he walks.

"Well, I went to the stables this morning to prepare one for the trip to the dam and found that there are three horses missing, and when I asked Victor, he said that he doesn't know who took them. He thinks that maybe it was one of the patrol for this morning, but he doesn't remember who," explains Albert to Tommy.

"Okay, so since you're not at the dam like you're supposed to be, why don't you go and check what patrol went out this morning without reporting to me or Maria," says Tommy.

"I already did that, and the only one that went out this morning was Dylan. The two guards on the west gate said that he was with two teenagers, one girl and one boy. They said that you gave them permission to go out on patrol," explains Albert.

"I didn't give Dylan any- Shit! That's great, just what we need." Then Tommy gets his radio off his belt and calls Maria.

Rrrrhhh… the radio buzzes.

" _Hey honey, do you need something?"_ Maria talks on the other side of the radio.

"I think that we have a little problem. Can we meet at Joel's house in twenty minutes?" says Tommy, with a worried face.

" _Okay… sure, I will finish with Claudia in the greenhouse, and meet you there. Is there something wrong, you sound a little worried?"_ answers Maria, now curious.

"I'll tell you as soon as we get there, okay, see you in twenty," says Tommy and turns off the radio.

Tommy puts his radio back on his belt and starts to walk in the direction of Joel's house, when Albert stops him.

"Hey, I want to know what you're going to do with that girl? She kicked me in the balls in front of all my men, and I don't care if she is with your brother, I want you to do something, and not just an apology, I want that-" Albert stops talking when he sees that Tommy is pointing his finger in his face.

"Listen, Albert, we have more serious problems here, than to hear your stupid whining. From what I hear, you were talking about my brother, telling people that he's with the hunters, helping them, so in my opinion, I think that you deserved that. I'm tired of all that shit going on with you and my brother and now Ellie too, so if you don't want me to be more pissed at you, you should go and do something useful. Do I make myself clear?" says Tommy, furious.

"I don't think that that is-"

"I said NOW! Move before I punch you myself." After that, Albert turns and goes in the other direction.

Twenty minutes after confronting that whining bastard Albert, he gets to Joel's house. Maria hasn't arrived yet, so he decides to check the house first. He opens the door, enters the house, and starts to call Ellie. When she doesn't respond, he goes upstairs to check if she's sleeping in her room. When he gets to her room, the door is closed, so he knocks on the door and calls out to her.

When he doesn't get any response, he opens the door and sees that Ellie's not there. He leaves the room and walks to Joel`s room; at that moment, he hears Maria calling him from downstairs.

"Hey, babe, are you up there?" asks Maria as soon as she enters the house.

"Yes, I'm upstairs." As soon as Tommy says that, Maria goes upstairs and sees him enter Joel`s room.

When Maria gets to the room, she sees Tommy looking in the closet. "Hey, where's Ellie -isn't she supposed to be in bed, resting?"

"Yes, but she's not here, and I just received information from Albert, that Dylan and two teenegers went out early this morning on patrol through the west gate," says Tommy.

"And you think that Ellie was with him?" asks Maria with a worried expression.

"Albert didn't mention her, so I don't think that she was with him, and if he lied about going out on patrol, I assume that somehow she got out of town by other means," explains Tommy.

"Shit, you mean that she's out there, looking for Joel? Is she crazy?" asks Maria with an incredulous look.

"Well, she was pretty upset when I told her that we need to stop looking for him, for the time being. And I know that the relationship between those two is very strong," says Tommy while they walk out of the room.

"So what are we going to do now? We can't send someone after her right now. We have a lot of people pretty scared on the impending attack in here, so we need all the men inside the town."

"I know, and I knew that she was going to try something like this - that's why I told Dylan that he needs to keep an eye on her. Since he's now a friend of Joel's, I thought that was a good idea. But I can see now that it wasn't."

"Maybe that's why he went out... he must have seen her and went after her," says Maria.

"Yeah, maybe, but I just think that he went out to help her try to find him. Shit, I was just worried about Joel and now I have to be for Ellie, too."

"Well, this isn't your fault, honey, and now we just have to pray that nothing happens to them. Maybe we can call one of the patrol that are already out, and tell them to look out for them." After that, Maria and Tommy walk out of the house and go to continue the preparation of the town.

 ***A Few hours later deep in the forest***

After Michael has the conversation with Joel, he leaves the room. He orders some of his men to go in there and pay some courtesy to him and show him some hospitality for what he did to his men. He tells them that they can give him a little lesson, but not to kill him (that will be his own personal pleasure, but that is going to wait for now). After that, he comes back to his office and starts the discussion of his plans with his men on how the attack on the town will go down.

After a few hours, Michael reunites some of his men in the big building and starts the final preparation. When all the things are prepared, he gathers his men there and starts his speech.

"Okay, my people, this is the moment of truth. I know that some of you think that this is going to be impossible to achieve, but we all know what to do. The last one we attacked was smaller than this one, and we lost some of our men in that one. But this time we have more fire power, and a better strategy, so I can guarantee that we're going to get through this one, too." After Michael says that, all the men in there start to cheer.

Lukas is in the background, just behind Michael and Brandon and two more men, looking down at the men on the floor below. He sees how enthusiastic they've become, but he knows that this is going to end badly for them. The little settlement they attacked like two months ago was a small one, and not very well-defended. This one is not the same; this town is bigger and has more people, yes... Michael thinks that they have more civilians than armed men in there and that the resistance is going to be minimal. But Lukas knows differently - these people have more defenses, and electricity.

He tried to convince Michael from the beginning that this was not a good idea, that his obsession to find the two people responsible for the murders in their town was going to doom them all. He tried again when they captured the old man, but when he returned, it was worse - he made a deal with the Fireflies. He knows that this isn't going to end well, either. Whatever deal he makes with them is going to backfire: those Fireflies can't be trusted. But he can't do anything; the men are so blindly following him that any attempts of stopping this would be in vain, so he just stays there and doesn't say anything.

"Now, my people, after this, we're not going to have any hard winters anymore. I want the town burned to ashes, but after we've taken all we need. You can kill every man in there if you have to, but try not to kill the women and children - we're going to need them after we do this, for all our family back home."

More cheers can be heard again as the people get more excited to start the fight. Lukas just looks down and moves his head side to side a little, but Michael continues.

"Now, Brandon is going to lead the attack on the east fence - that's where the main attack is going to be. The other group is going to be led by Oscar on the west fence. The two groups are each going to have one of the cargo trucks with the infected, so as soon as you make a hole in the fence, just enter the truck and let the infected distract the people defending the place. I will send another group to attack the dam, so they won't have any electricity when the attack starts. They expect an attack during the night, so we're going to attack in the first light of morning. The people there are going to be too tired to fight. Now all of you know what to do, so take your weapons and go to the vehicles."

After that, all the men inside the building start to gather their things and go out. Michael smiles as he sees all the men go out and get to the vehicles. He starts to walk without saying anything, then he stops and turns to look at Lukas and sees that he is starting to walk in the opposite direction.

"Stop!" says Michael to Lukas, and Lukas turns around and looks at him. "I know that you don't approve of this, but this is going to work like always. So just do what I tell you and it's all going to be okay."

Lukas just stays there looking at him for a moment, then he turns around and leaves without saying anything.

(a little earlier in the forest)

"Okay, I think we're close, so try not to make much sound, okay?" says Dylan to the group of teens.

"Are you sure? I don't see anything, and-" Brad is saying when he hears something close.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?" says a man, jumping out from some bushes with a gun in his hand.

"Oh, sorry, I think that we just got lost," says Jenna to the man while putting her arm up.

"Yeah, so you did, hmm, then I think that-" the man starts to say when he feels a hand on his mouth and a knife in his back.

"Bob?" The three teens say at the same time.

"I thought I told you all to be careful?" says Bob to them, and drops the body of the dead man to the ground.

"Fuck! Where the hell have you been?... Do you think there's more of them?" asks Dylan in a low voice.

"Just another one a mile away... they don't have radios so that means that this guard is going to be replaced soon. So we don't have much time now. The old factory buildings are this way - come," Bob says and gestures for them to follow him.

They follow Bob to the top of a little cliff where they can see the buildings of the old factory, then they get down and watch.

"Wow, is that a fucking army?" asks Brad with his eyes wide open.

"Bob, there's too many, and all of them have guns, what are we going to do?" asks Dylan.

"For now, just watch," says Bob, taking out his binoculars and starting to observe the camp.

After a few minutes, they see how a lot of men start to come out of the big building and go into some vehicles. There are some trucks and pickups starting to move out from the complex, leaving just a few guys over there.

"Okay, so now what?" asks Dylan, looking at Bob.

"There's still too many of them, so there's not much we can do for now. And I think it's better if some of us go back and warn the town," says Bob as he turns around and faces the others.

"Send some of us back!... what the fuck, Bob - Joel is probably there, and if you send some of us back, what are the rest going to do to rescue Joel?" says Ellie with a hard voice.

"Ellie, I'm sorry, but there's too many men down there; it's going to be impossible to attack them by ourselves. Also, you saw a lot of them leave, so it's possible that they're going to attack Jackson, and we need to warn them," says Bob, getting close to Ellie.

"Look, I came here to find Joel and rescue him. I'm not just going to go and leave him down there with those motherfuckers, okay?" says Ellie, almost yelling.

"Look, I just saw like ten men down there, and it's possible that there are more inside the building, so without more men, I'm not going there with just three kids, okay?" says Bob, putting a hand on Ellie's shoulder.

"We're not kids - we know how to shoot and take care of ourselves," says Ellie with an angry face.

"Sorry, girl, but I'm not just going to take any of you down there and get you all killed. I know that you want to help your friend, we all do, but this is too much for us. We need to get back to Jackson to inform them that these people are going to attack, and that they have vehicles and strong fire power. Then we can convince Tommy and Maria that they have Joel in that old factory so they can send some men to take them down," says Bob, trying to convince Ellie.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere without Joel,so if you want to go, do it," says Ellie with tears starting to form in her eyes.

"There has to be something we can do, right?" Jenna says to Bob, then looks at Ellie.

"Ummm… well, the only thing we can do is wait, for now, and see if we can come up with a plan to rescue your friend. But one thing is for sure: we need to inform Maria and Tommy that they're going to attack the town." Then Bob lets go of Ellie's shoulder and approaches Jenna and Brad.

"What are we going to do, do you have a plan?" Dylan asks.

"Well... one thing first, umm… Jenna, is it? You and your friend here are going to go back to the old houses where we left the horses. Take one horse and go back to Jackson, and let Maria know that the hunters are going to attack soon - probably tonight, okay? They have vehicles, but for getting to the town, it's going to take time for them, especially if they don't want to be seen," explains Bob to the two teenagers.

"Okay, what about you guys? You two and Ellie are going to stay here and watch?" says Jenna.

"For now, yes! When you two get to the town, tell Tommy that the hunter hide-out is in the old factory where we found Harold. Tell him that they probably have Joel there, and that we're going to need some men to assist us," says Bob.

"Okay, let's go, Brad, if we hurry we can get to Jackson before they do," says Jenna, looking at Brad.

"Okay!" answers Brad.

"Ellie, don't worry, we're going to come back with- Ellie?" Jenna starts to say, looking in the direction where Ellie was standing.

"Ellie!... where'd she go?" says Dylan as everyone looks in the direction of the little cliff.

"Ellie!" Jenna yells, and all of them run to the border of the little cliff, but they don't see anything.

"Shit! This is going to complicate things. Okay, you two go, Dylan and me are going to find Ellie, before she does something stupid. Just get there as quick as possible, okay?" says Bob, looking at the two teens.

"Okay, but please don't let anything happen to her - we're going to come back as soon as possible with some help." As Jenna says that, she turns around and grabs Brad's hand, then starts to run into the forest.

"Don't worry, we'll save them both," says Bob.

"We will?" asks Dylan, a little surprised.

While Bob and the others were talking, Ellie sneaked away and started to get down to the complex. " _There's no way that I'm just going to sit there and wait for something to happen to Joel,"_ she says to herself while she climbs down. After a little while, she gets to the parking lot and hides behind some rusted car there, and she starts looking around.

 _It's going to be dark soon, so maybe it's better if I wait a little longer and hide in the dark. But which building have they been holding Joel in? All those men came out of the big one, so I can bet that he's not in there. That's why I need to move to the other two and check those. I'm lucky that there's not too many guards around, and I'm small so I think that I can sneak through the parking lot and find my way into the second building through the window. Come on, Ellie you can do this... Joel needs you,_ she tells herself and starts to move quietly.

"Damn, why does that girl have to be so difficult - I know that she cares for Joel very much, but risking her life like this... I'm sure that Joel won't approve of this," says Dylan to Bob while they descend the cliff.

"Well, I'm not surprised. If you know these two well, you should know by now that they're capable of doing anything for each other," says Bob as soon as they get to the bottom and hide behind some bushes.

"So what now? She could be anywhere, and it's getting dark. We can go looking around and see if we can find her," whispers Dylan.

"Well if I was her, I'd go and start to check the buildings, so let's see if we can find her before it's too late," says Bob, taking out the binoculars and starting to check the sides of the buildings.

Ellie makes it to the side of the second building without getting caught, so she steps up on an old box and starts looking through the broken window. Well, I can't see much, but at least there's no one in there, so I think that I can get in without getting caught and-"

"Vaya vaya… que tenemos aqui?" says a man behind Ellie.

"Crap!" says Ellie without turning around.

"Si Ramón, creo que encontramos un polisón, ahora date vuelta niña y subes las manos?" says the other man.

Ellie feels stupid; she not only let these two guys jump her, but her guns are in her backpack, and now she doesn't have time to get them out. She tries to think of something... maybe those guys would be stupid enough for her to trick them.

"Okay… no tienes que ...lastimarme...sólo estaba…umm.. Mirando por hay? And tal vez podamos.. Umm divertirnos? If you have something to eat, of course," says Ellie to the two men while she turns around with her hand up.

"Buen intento niña! Pero será mejor si te llevamos con nuestro jefe. Así que quítate esa mochila y baja de ahi," says one of the men, moving close to Ellie.

"Well, you can't blame a girl for trying." As soon as she says that, Ellie takes her backpack out and throws it to the guy who is pointing a gun at her. In the process, she takes out a knife that she has in her pants pocket and jumps at the other man in front of her. They both fall down as soon as Ellie stabs the man in the chest with the knife. As the man screams in pain, the other one recovers quickly and hits Ellie in the head with the machine gun he has.

Ellie falls to the side, semi-conscious. As soon as the commotion is over, another man comes by the building and asks what happened. The man with the gun, now pointed at Ellie, tells him what happened, and that the girl just killed his friend.

"Ella mato a Raul, you voy a matar a esa pequena perra," says the man, yelling.

"Shut up! You're not going to do shit. We're going to take her to the boss. Now pick her up."

"Qué hacemos con Raúl?" says the man, picking Ellie up from the ground.

"You can come back later for him, or tell one of the men inside to come and pick him up. Now move," says the man, and the two start walking, dragging Ellie by the arm.

As soon as the two men get out from the side of the building, Bob sees them with the binoculars. "Shit! They got Ellie," says Bob, putting the binoculars down and looking at Dylan.

"Fuck!... what now?" asks Dylan.

"Now we need a plan," says Bob, looking again at the building where they are taking Ellie.

When the two men enter the small building, they quickly drag Ellie up the stairs and stop in front of a closed door on the second floor. Then one of the men knocks on the door. When they hear the boss say to enter, they open the door and enter the room.

"Sir, we found this girl snooping around in one of the buildings," says the man, getting close to the desk.

"A girl!" says Michael, raising his head up. Then he stands up from the desk and moves close to the man holding Ellie.

"Esta pequena perra mato a Raul," says the guy holding Ellie.

"What did he say?" Michael asks the other man.

"He says that she killed Raul, boss," answers the man.

"Oh, I see, so you're a little bitch, like to kill my men, umm... so I going to ask you what're you doing here?" asks Michael as he lifts Ellie's head up and looks at her face.

Ellie tries to focus her eyes, as she still feels a little dizzy from the hit to the head by the gun. When she opens her eyes as much she can, she tries to focus her vision on the man in front of her, and when she does, she opens her eyes wide, an expression of fear showing in her face. Then there is only one word that escapes her mouth: " _David!"_

 **To be continued...**


	19. The Past Comes Back to Haunt You Part-2

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

* * *

 **Chapter 19 : The Past Comes Back to Haunt You Part-2**

 ***The old Factory***

"David?" Ellie says, with a fearful expression on her face, just like she's seen a ghost.

"Well… well… well. This is interesting," says Michael, moving away from Ellie, with a surprised expression.

"How…?" _This can't be true, I must still be unconscious and this is another nightmare,_ Ellie thinks to herself.

"How… I look a little like him? That means that you must have seen my brother David before. So I can assume that you must be Ellie then, am I right?"

"Your brother?... you`re David's brother?..." Ellie asks, with a little pain in her voice.

"Yes, I'm David's brother, but the interesting part is how you know I look like him? Because when I asked your old man, he didn't recognize my face, just the name of my brother," says Michael, looking at Ellie with curiosity.

"Joel!... where is he? And what did you do to him?" asks Ellie, a little furious now.

"Oh, he's alive... for now, but since you're here, maybe we can provide some entertainment for him. What do you think, guys?" says Michael, sitting back at the desk.

"Yeah, it'll be good to have some fun, since we have to stay here while the others get all the fun," says one of the men, smiling.

"Sí jefe vamos a torturarla primero, a sí podemos vengar a Raúl."

"I don't mean any of you, idiots! You're going to have plenty of that later, and after I take care of your old man, I can take care of you too," says Michael to the two men, and then to Ellie.

"You motherfucker! Let Joel and me go or you're going to regret this," says Ellie, now more clear and starting to kick the guys that are holding her.

"Stay put, you little shit!... Hey, you asshole, grab her arm firmly," says one man to the other, but at that time, Ellie twists her head a little and bites one of them on the arm.

"Carajo! La perra me mordio." Snachh! One of the men hits her in the face, and then grabs her by her ponytail. The other man is about to hit her again, but stops when he hears Michael yelling at them.

"Stop, you idiot, I need her intact," says Michael, now standing up and moving to where they're holding her.

"You're a little fierce, aren't you - I can see now why my brother had some interest in you," says Michael, grabbing Ellie's face and forcing her to look at him. "But I have a better way to break you, and maybe we can have a little fun with you and your old man, before they take you away."

"You piece of shit! If you do anything to Joel, I'm going to kill you," says Ellie, trying to break the hold they have on her.

"Ha, Ha, Ha… What a coincidence - your old man said the same thing about you," says Michael, releasing her from the face grab. "Okay, you two take her to the… guest room on the third floor, and after that, tell Chris to come here to see me."

"C`mon, you little shit, move!" says one of the guys, dragging her to the door and out of the room.

"Let go of me, you motherfuckers, you're going to pay for this!" yells Ellie as they drag her out of the room, screaming and kicking.

" _Well, that was a little surprise, now I don't have to wait for the battle to end. I have them now, and maybe I can play with them a little. Don't worry, brother, they're going to pay for what they did to you and our people."_ Saying that to himself, Michael moves to his desk, smiling.

(a few hours later in the forest)

"Uff… uff... Can you please slow down… uff... I need to rest for a moment," says Brad while he stops and rests against a tree, breathless.

"C`mon Brad, I think we're almost there. As soon as we get to the horses, the rest is going to be easy," says Jenna, getting close to him.

"I know, but we need to rest a little. It's dark already and even with the moonlight, it's too difficult to see now. I know that you're worried about Ellie. I am too, but I'm sure that Bob and Dylan are going to find her before she gets in any trouble. And we've been running since we left them there," says Brad, trying to slow his breathing.

"Okay, we'll rest for a few minutes, but Ellie's not the only one I'm worried about." They stand up after a few minutes of rest. "Okay, it's time to go - I can hear the river close by, so I think that the old houses have to be that way, maybe a mile or two."

"Umm… Jenna, do you think that we're going to get back to Jackson in time? Those people have vehicles and a lot of guns," says Brad with a worried expression.

"We have to make it. It's not only Ellie and the others back there. There's a lot of people in Jackson that can't fight. From what we saw, it's going to be hard for the security guards from the town to hold them back, especially if they're caught by surprise," says Jenna, moving close to him now.

"Yeah, our families are there too, and we need to warn them," says Brad, now moving away from the tree.

"So you`re okay now?" asks Jenna, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, let's go," says Brad.

After half an hour, they arrive at the old houses where they left the horses. But as soon as they get close, they see a few men walking around the house, where the horses are. So Jenna and Brad hide behind some bushes close to the place.

"Shit!... How'd they know that we left the horses here?" says Brad, looking at the guys.

"I don't know, but we can go to Jackson on foot. So how many are there?" asks Jenna.

"I'm not sure, maybe three or four, but they're not well-armed, so… maybe we can take them."

"Are you crazy? We can't fight four armed men," says Jenna, looking at Brad with a worried expression.

"We can if I distract them. I will go to the other side of the house, and after I get their attention, you can shoot them down. Do you think that you can do that?" says Brad, looking at Jenna now.

"Brad, I don't think this is a good idea, maybe we can wait a little-"

"They're going to take the horses! Don't worry, my dad taught me how to shoot, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you, okay?" says Brad, starting to move.

"Brad!"

"What!" answers Brad, turning around.

"Be careful…" Jenna says softly.

"Jenna!... there's something I have to tell you before-" Brad is interrupted when Jenna runs to him, lays her hand on the side of his face, and kisses him lightly in the mouth. Brad just stays frozen, like he didn't expect this in a million years.

"Jenna! You… you… did you just kiss me?" asks Brad with a surprised look after they break the kiss.

"Yeah, silly… didn't you like it?" asks Jenna, looking him in the eye.

"Yeah!... yeah I did, it's just I didn't expect that you… you know, like me like that!" says Brad.

"Yeah, I know, this is a little surprising for me too. It's like... I don't know, it's like I've felt like this for some time and you always help me without questioning me much. And out there when that man showed up pointing his gun at us, you quickly jumped in front of me, to protect me. I just realized in that moment that, I think I have some feelings for you," says Jenna, still close to him but looking at the ground now.

"Well, I would love to talk about all this later, when our lives are not being threatened, but as we have a little situation here now, it's better if we continue with my plan." After Brad says that, Jenna grabs his face again and gives him another kiss, more passionately this time.

"Now let's get those fuckers, okay babe!" says Jenna, after she breaks the kiss and stares at Brad's expression.

"Babe?" asks Brad, a little surprised.

"Yeah... I kind of like it. We can talk about all this later, when all this is over, okay? But if you tell Ellie or anyone else that I called you that, I will kill you... okay?" says Jenna, smiling.

"Okay, no problem with that, now the moon's giving us some light, so now you just wait for my signal. When I'm gone, you go and get a little close to the trees over there, and start shooting as soon as I distract them, 'k?" After that, Brad starts to move.

Then Jenna grabs his arm again. "Be careful back there, okay? I don't want to lose you before we start… you know."

"Don't worry, I don't want to lose this either. I know we can do this, trust me." With that, Brad starts walking again, toward the other side of one of the old houses.

 ***A little while later in Jackson***

The town is quiet; the only people walking on the streets are the patrol guards, and the extra guards on the wall of the town. The rest of the people are sleeping in their houses, since it's 4:00 in the morning. It's been like this for the past three days, since Maria announced the emergency meeting, and informed the people of Jackson to start preparations for a possible attack.

Tommy is sitting at his desk in the little office they have in their house. He studies some procedures and more possible moves for an emergency situation. They haven't had any raids for a long time now. He doesn't know what to expect, but he knows that this time it's going to be big. He is checking some papers when Maria enters the room.

"Hey! What are you doing here at this hour? You should be resting," asks Maria as soon as she enters the room.

"Oh! Hey… I'm just checking on something we need to do tomorrow," says Tommy, still looking at some papers.

"Tommy, you need to get some sleep. You haven't been sleeping well since your brother disappeared, and now that Ellie is gone too, it's worse," says Maria, getting close to Tommy.

"I know… I know, but I have a bad feeling about this, and I know that the people that got Joel are going to come here soon. And I think that maybe I could do something more for my brother and now Ellie," says Tommy, while he puts his hand on his head. Then Maria puts her arm around his shoulders and kisses him on the cheek.

"You did everything possible, even sending those three men out there to look for Ellie and the others."

"Yeah, but even if they find Ellie and the others, Joel's been missing for almost a week. And I know that the hunters don't keep prisoners for long," says Tommy, looking at Maria now.

"Honey! I know that Joel is your brother and even though he acts like an ass sometimes, you love him. The same with Ellie, but they're both strong people, survivors. They came back after they went to look for the Fireflies, and after all that happened to them, they're still alive," says Maria, trying to comfort her husband.

"Yeah, but at what cost? Remember all the people my brother killed for that, and the world he condemned just to save a girl," says Tommy, standing up from the chair.

"Well, we all have our demons to fight. Joel is going to deal with them one day. C'mon, you need to sleep a little. You can't do much if you're too tired." Then Maria takes one of her husband's arms and starts to drag him out of the room.

Rrrrsssss, The radio on Tommy's desk starts to sound.

When Tommy hears the radio, he turns around and goes to the desk, takes the radio in his hand, and presses the button.

"This is Tommy, who's talking?" asks Tommy on the radio.

" _Sorry to bother you at this hour, sir. I'm Gregory Olson, I work on one of the towers at the west wall. And I think we have a problem,"_ answers the man through the radio.

"Okay, what's the problem?" asks Tommy.

" _Well, we lost the energy for the lights on the tower on this part of the wall, and I think that we saw something moving in the trees a while ago, and-"_ The man is interrupted by a strong sound.

Ka-BOOM! An explosion can be heard, shattering the silence of the town.

Rrrhhssssss... The radio goes dead after that.

"What the fuck was that?" asks Tommy, looking at Maria.

"Sounds like an explosion, in the west part of the town," answers Maria, moving out of the room.

Tommy and Maria grab their guns and leave the house. They start to look at the west part of the town to try to see what just happened. Then Tommy turns on the radio and tries to talk with someone on that part of the wall.

"I can't reach anyone from there," says Tommy to Maria.

"I can see a little fire from here. I'll go and check, you call the other post and check if they saw anything," says Maria as she starts to run.

"Hey, you can't go over there alone? I'll go with you," says Tommy.

"No! Just call all the post and check if they've seen something else out there. I'll be fine," says Maria, moving away.

"Hello! Can anyone in the east towers hear me?" Tommy says on the radio.

" _This is Han, I'm on tower six on the east wall… Tommy, is that you?"_ asks the man on the radio.

"Yes, I'm… did you see something out there?" asks Tommy, a little nervous.

" _No! Everything's fine here, but we heard like an explosion on the other side of the town. Is everything okay?"_ asks the man.

"I'm not sure yet. We heard that too and Maria went to check that out. Also, we lost contact with one of the towers over there, so I think we're under attack. I want all of you on alert and inform me if you see anything." Tommy starts to run toward the main gate.

"Hey!... That was Tommy?" asks the other man at the tower, from down on the ground.

"Yes, it was him, he said that it was an explosion on the other side of town," answers Han.

"Do you think that the hunters are attacking, because I don't hear the bell from the church?"

"Hey... I think that I can see something out there, it looks like… shit! Ahhhhaaa…" the man jumps from the tower before a little projectile hits the tower and explodes.

Ka- BOOM!… another explosion blows out part of the fence. After that, some gunfire can be heard in the distance. The bell from the church starts to sound, so the people know now that the town is under attack. After the sound starts, the people are starting to get up from their beds and prepare themselves for the coming fight.

As Maria reaches the center of the town, she encounters a few men running in her direction. She stops them and asks if they saw what happened when she notices that they are coming from the direction of the explosion.

"Hey, you - stop! What happened? Did you see something?" Maria start to asks one of the men that she stops.

"They're inside!… they're inside!" answers the man with a panicked voice.

"Who's inside - the hunters?" asks Maria, now a little desperate.

"Infected!" says another man in the group.

"Infected?... how?" Maria asks with an incredulous expression.

Then one of the men starts to explain to her that when the explosion took down the tower, the broken tower broke part of the fence when it fell to the ground. A few minutes later, a truck broke through the broken fence and entered the town. After the truck stopped, the back of the truck opened and infected started to jump out of the truck. The man told her that the infected started to attack some of the guards that came to check the explosion, and that they were lucky to get out of there alive.

"How many infected got out of the truck?" Maria asks the man.

"Not sure but like twenty or thirty, I think," says the man that Maria is talking to.

"Okay, there's not much in that part of town, so we need to contain them there. The plan was if they get inside, the center of the town is going to be the meeting point. So as soon as the men start to get here, I want a few people to put some barricades on those streets and hold the infected there. I'll call Tommy and let him know," explains Maria to the men. Soon others start to arrive, and they start to move some wooden boxes and other things to blockade the street.

Then Maria takes the radio and calls. "Tommy. Tommy! Tommy! Are you there?"

" _Yes! I'm at the front gate, but I heard another two explosions on the east part of the town. Did you find out what happened at the west tower?"_ asks Tommy.

"Yes, it's a hunter attack, and they're using infected as a distraction. We're making a barricade in the street close to the area, and organizing the men in here," says Maria.

" _Okay, I called Albert and told him to move his men towards where the two explosion sounds came from. I sent two more people to protect the gates, and told the shooters to take their positions on the roof,"_ says Tommy on the radio.

After Tommy stops talking to Maria, another call comes through the radio. Now it's Albert, telling him that they arrived at the east part of the town and got surprised by a big truck inside the town, and that infected were jumping out of the truck. Tommy told him that they have to hold the infected until they arrive with reinforcements.

A few minutes later, Maria instructs the men to take position on the side of the the building to cover the street. They are finished with the barricade when a group of infected come out from one of the streets. She indicates to the men to start shooting and take out the infected. There are just six of them, so in a few minutes they are all dead on the ground.

"Okay, I need two men to move to the other street and check if there are more infected," says Maria to the group.

The two men that chose to go start to move through the houses. Maria already evacuated the few houses that are in that area, so now it's just the guards there. After five minutes, one of the men comes running down the street, screaming as a bunch of infected are following him. Maria orders to fire as soon as the man jumps over the barricade and lands on the other side. After they shoot down all the infected, the man gets up to celebrate when a bullet hits him in the chest. Everyone takes cover after some of the alleged hunters come out from one of the houses and start to shoot at them. They open fire back, and the real battle now begins.

On the other side of town, Tommy and a few men arrive at the barricade that Albert and the others were making, and now they are shooting the infected.

"Albert! How's the situation in here?" Tommy asks as soon as he gets down close to Albert. Some of the men that came with Tommy start to take cover when they hear some guns shooting in their direction.

"Well, we took out almost all of the infected that came out of the truck, then we threw a few molotov cocktails that we had and blew up the truck with a few infected inside. Some infected went in the direction of the farm. After that, a few hunters showed up and started shooting at us. We managed to kill some of them, but we lost four men, and the rest of the hunters took position at the two houses over there," Albert finishes, pointing at the houses where the hunters are.

"Okay, I talked to Maria and she told me that they were using the infected as a distraction. So that means that it's possible there are more of them inside already," says Tommy.

The shooting continues on both sides as the fire from the fallen tower starts to spread to one of the houses close by.

"Shit! We need to put that fire out or they're going to burn the whole town," says one of Albert's men.

"Yeah, but how? They have a good position for now; we can't get behind them. And another thing, those people are not ordinary hunters... they took down that tower and made the hole in the fence with hard explosives, probably RPG, and they're using M16 guns," explains Albert to Tommy.

"You don't think they're with the Army, do you?" asks one of the men that came with Tommy.

"I don't know, but someone with that kind of power probably supplied them," says Albert, dodging some of the bullets that come in his direction.

"Well, first we need to block the hole in the fence, so that can stop the rest of them from coming inside, and to do that, we have to take out those men inside the house," says Tommy to the group.

"Yeah, that sounds great, but how are we going to do that?" asks one of the men.

"We don't have to do it, we just keep firing at them and keep them distracted. I'll call John and he can burn the house down with the hunters inside, without them noticing anything," says Tommy while he picks up his radio and makes the call.

On the other side of the town, Maria and her group continue the fight with the hunters. She loses two more men as the hunters continue to advance their position. They start to shoot again when she feels the radio buzz again.

"Tommy, is that you?" asks Maria as soon as she answers the call.

" _No! It's Mark. I'm at the south gate with three more people, and we can see a vehicle in the distance, coming this way,"_ says Mark with a panicked voice.

"Okay… listen, don't let them come close to the gate - start shooting at them as soon as you have them in shooting distance, okay?" Maria says to the man on the radio.

" _Okay, ma'am, we'll do our best. Okay, guys, you all heard Maria - we need to keep them from getting inside the town."_ Maria hears the man talk to the others at the gate. " _Okay, here they come - start shooting, guys!"_

The shooting can be heard a little in the distance, and after a few minutes they stop. Maria is about to call back the men from the gate to ask them the status of the situation, when she hears her radio buzz again.

" _Maria, are you there?"_ asks Mark on the radio.

"Yes, Mark, I'm here, did you get them?" asks Maria now.

" _Yes! We took the pickup down close to the gate, and I think that all the occupants are dead,"_ answers the man.

"Okay, that's great, just make sure that all of them are really-" Maria is interrupted by the man screaming on the other side of the radio.

" _Oh my God, there's another vehicle coming and they're firing a RPG GUN!... fuck, everybody get DOWN!"_ screams the man on the radio, and then...

Ka-BOOM! An explosion can be heard from the distance.

"Shit! Okay, guys, we need to get this fucker down because I think that more trouble is coming this way," says Maria to the men.

"Okay, what do we do? We can't take those hunters in close combat - from what I can see, they have more firepower than us," says one of the men.

"Yeah, that's correct, but we still have the advantage - they don't know this place the way we do. Okay, now we have some snipers on some of the roofs close to the store street. All we have to do is lead them there so our men can take them down."

As soon as Maria finishes the explanation, she and the rest of the group start to move quickly to the store street, making sure that the intruders are following them.

After the explosion at the south gate, a group of five men start to get out of the pickup truck that they came in. As the gate is now blown to pieces, the men start to pick up their guns from the truck. They are wearing some kind of old military armor and more sophisticated gear, and they have a patch of a firefly on one of the sleeves. Then they start walking toward the entrance of the town.

"Okay, our primary mission is to find the girl, so choose your target wisely. You can kill any resistance you find in there, but be careful with the civilians; we don't want to kill the girl by mistake. We need her alive, is that clear?" says Jayson to the rest of his men.

"Yes, sir!" all of them answer at the same time.

"Good, now Mike, you're going to stay in the truck and watch if someone else comes through the road. I'll call you when we've found the girl so you can pick us up, so stay prepared for that," says Jayson.

"Yes, sir! You can count on me," says Mike.

"Okay, the rest with me - the sun is going to be up in a few hours so we need to move fast. Remember the girl is like sixteen by now and has a bite mark on her right arm. That is all we know of her - and that her name is Ellie. Now move." With that, the men start to move through the broken gate, and shoot one of the town guards that was alive.

(A few minutes later in the forest close to the town)

A group of people just ride in on the horses, out from the tree line close to the road that leads to Jackson. They can hear guns shooting now, and see some fire in the distance.

"What the hell is that? Is that gunfire?" asks Brad.

"Shit! We're too late - those men that you mentioned before are attacking the town. Okay, we need to get to the main gate, and pray that someone's still in there, so I don't think that your friends are going to get help any time soon," says the leader of the three men to Jenna.

"What the fuck are you talking about, you said that you were going to call Tommy and ask for help. So what are you going to do now? We need to get some people to help Ellie and the others," says Jenna with a desperate voice.

"Sorry, kids, but there's nothing that we can do now, we need-" the man is interrupted by the buzz of his radio.

" _Hello!... Can anyone hear me?"_ says a man on the radio.

"Hey… I thought you said that the radio wasn't working," says another man in the group.

"Hello, this is Jeff… who is calling on this frequency?"

" _This is Harry… I'm in charge of the security of the dam this week. Are you in the town?_ " asks Harry.

"No, I'm with a group and two kids, outside the town. We were looking for some people, and we just arrived and discovered that the town is under attack. So if you're looking for Tommy or Maria I'm sure that they are very busy. So if you have something to say to the I-" Jeff is interrupted again.

" _The town is under attack? Shit… I've been trying to contact Tommy since like an hour ago. They must have found a way to interrupt the long distance communications,"_ says Harry, a little worried now.

"Fuck! That's why when we tried to contact the town for the past two hours, no one responded. Okay, we're going to try to get to Jackson and-"

" _How many are in your group?"_ asks Harry through the radio.

"Five! Three adults and two teenagers. Why?" asks Jeff now.

"Because the dam is under attack and we need your help," says Harry before the radio goes silent.

"Hello!... Hello!... fuck, okay, we need to go there and help them. Hey, you two, do you know how to shoot?" asks Jeff, looking now to Jenna and Brad.

"Yeah, we can. Why… you're not thinking of going to the dam, are you? What we need is to get to town and get some help."

"We don't have time - we're halfway to the dam, and they need more help than the town," says Jeff, preparing his gun.

"Are you not listening to me? My friend needs help now!" says Jenna, a little desperate.

"Now _you_ listen: I'm sorry about your friend and those other people that were with you two, but you must understand that if the dam is destroyed, the town is doomed. You both have family there - we all do - so we need to do this no matter what. So are you coming or not?" asks Jeff, looking at the two teenegers.

"Okay! We're going with you… so what is the plan? We don't know how many there are," says Jenna, moving her horse forward.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll tell you on the way." And with that, the group takes the road toward the dam.

 ***Half an hour after Ellie is captured in the complex***

After Michael orders his man to take Ellie to another room, he calls one of his men to his office, and after he talks to him, he orders the man to prepare something for the the girl. After half an hour, Michael goes to the room where the man is working.

"Okay, Chris, what do you have for me?" asks Michael as soon as he enters the room.

"Well, I'm almost finished, boss, it was a little tricky with the specifications that you gave me about the girl, took me more time to do it, I have to be sure I do this right," says Chris, while he's still working at his desk.

"What the hell you mean, 'tricky'? I just asked you to prepare a little cocktail for the girl," Michael says a little angrily.

"Well, yes, but you must understand that we use this to take down the infected we use for the attacks, without killing them. The girl is too young and small, and if I do this wrong, this can kill her," says the man a little nervously.

"Well then I hope you do this right, because I just want her to be a... little more docile, I don't want her knocked out or dead, do you understand that? Because if she dies, you're going to follow her - is that clear?"

"Sure… boss, just give me twenty minutes and I'll be ready... sir," says Chris with a little worried tone in his voice.

"You have ten, and when I come back, I want this ready, okay?" With that, Michael walks out of the room.

(at the same time, outside)

After they see that Ellie has been captured, Bob and Dylan try to get close to one of the buildings, but they have to stop when some men start to look around close to them. So they back away, back to the bushes where they were before.

"Okay, what are we going to do now? We need to get inside and kill those fuckers and rescue Ellie and Joel," says Dylan to Bob while still watching the men moving around, searching.

"Yeah, we're going to do something, but not now... we need a plan first," says Bob.

"A plan? Why don't we just go and kill those bastards? They're like, what - five or six? I think we can take them easily, and then-" He stops talking when Bob puts a hand on his shoulder, and talks to him in a lower voice..

"Yes, we can do that, and then what? We don't know how many are inside of those buildings. And as soon as they hear the shooting, they're going to come out, or they'll just kill them because of us, so yeah, we need a plan," says Bob, looking now at the old building.

"Okay, so what do we do?" asks Dylan, now looking at the ground.

"Well, they're looking for somebody, so they probably think that Ellie wasn't alone. So for now, we move back to the forest and wait for them to stop searching, then we have to think of a way to distract them so we can get inside the building where they took Ellie."

"Okay, I just hope that we're not too late for that," says Dylan, now looking at Bob.

"Listen, we're going to get them back, okay? Don't worry about that. Now c`mon, we need to move before they see us; they're getting close to this area." With that, Bob and Dylan start to move away from the complex and into the forest.

(10 minutes later inside)

"Okay, I hope that this thing works fine… for your own good, Chris," says Michael to the man while they walk to the room where Ellie is.

When they get close to the door, they hear someone scream inside, so they rush to the door and open it. When they get inside, Michael sees one of his men on the floor, holding his crotch in pain.

"What the hell happened here?" Michael asks the other man who was trying to help the one on the floor.

"Esa perra me pateo las bolas...ahhhh," says the man on the floor.

"She just kicked him in the balls when he tried to take her sneakers off," the other man translates for Michael.

Michael just looks at the men on the ground and starts to think about how he's surrounded by incompetent people. Then he looks at Ellie, sitting in a metal chair in the middle of the room. Her hands are tied to the arms of the chair, and she is screaming and struggling in there.

"You stupid asshole, why don't you tie her feet to the chair - that way she can't kick anybody else?" says Michael, getting close to Ellie and grabbing her ponytail, yanking her head back. "You don't know when to quit, do you?"

"Ahhhh...You motherfuckers… you're going to regret this, kicking his balls isn't the last thing I'm going to do to you if you don't let me go, and what did you do... WITH JOEL?" Ellie yells at him.

"You`ve got quite a mouth, little girl, oh and you're a little feisty, too… Mnnn, I like that. Maybe that's why my brother wanted you so desperately as his toy. Well, now it's going to be a waste that I can't keep you for myself for long, but that doesn't mean that we can't have a little fun today. Unnn… Okay, Chris, you can do it now." When Michael lets go of Ellie's hair, Chris moves close to her and gets the syringe close to her arm.

Ellie starts to kick and scream again as soon as she sees the needle entering her arm. "What is that, you fucker? Ahhhhyyy…"

"Oh, don't worry, little girl, it's just something to help you relax," says Michael, moving in front of her.

"You motherfucker, I'm going to kill you, like I kill-"

"My brother!... Yeah, you were the one that killed my brother. I know that now, but now you and the old man are going to pay for that," says Michael, looking now to Chris. "How long do we have to wait for the little cocktail to take effect?"

"Since the dose is so small, one hour, maybe a little more," answers Chris.

"Okay, I'll come back in an hour. You can go now, Chris, and you take that stupid asshole out of here and find a clean t-shirt. She's going to need a change of clothes later," says Michael, looking at the three men leaving the room.

"I`m the one who killed your brother, please just let Joel go?" asks Ellie, with a lower voice.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about him, little girl. He's still alive, and you're going to see him real soon, but for now, you will stay here and relax until I come back for you," says Michael, starting to walk out of the room.

 **To be Continued...**


	20. The Past Comes Back to Haunt You Part-3

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naug

 **A/N:** Hi, I just want to thanks to all the people that is reading this little story, as my first one I'm glad to see the interest on some people to read this. To the guesses that put review in the story, as I can't answer directly, I want to thank you here, for the one who ask for more chapters I post a new chapter every Monday, so look for that in that day. This part of the story is almost over, just 2 more chapters left, but don't worry to the ones who like this little one is going to be a sequel, so stay tune for that, thanks.

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 **Chapter 20 : The Past Comes Back to Haunt You Part-3**

 ***Present time, back in Jackson***

Maria's group does a great job getting the intruders to follow them until they get close to the center of the town. After that, the shooter on the roof takes them down. After a few minutes, she receives a call on the radio. It is one of the men that she sent to evacuate the houses that are close to the west part of the town. He tells her that the women and children were moved to the church and the greenhouse. Then he informs her that he saw that the south gate was destroyed

and a bunch of men entered the town, and that they started to check all to the houses close to that gate.

Then Maria tells him that she's going to send a few men there, and that he needs to keep an eye on them until the reinforcements arrive. On the other side of the town, Tommy and Albert are keeping the intruders on that side a little occupied, and after twenty minutes, the men that he called earlier arrive. The shooting continues for five more minutes until the men get into position and throw some molotovs into the house, causing it to catch fire. When the smoke starts to get heavy, the men inside the house start to come out, shooting and screaming. Some of them are on fire too; they try to defend themselves, but they're no match for Tommy and the others now.

"Okay, Albert, I will send a few people to put out the fire and help you put some barricades on the hole in the fence. Maria called me and said that a new group entered the town through the south gate, so I need to move in that direction," says Tommy and starts to gather his men to move out.

More shooting can be heard in the distance, coming from the direction of the farm. Then Tommy receives a new call on the radio: it's Marlon, one of the construction workers, volunteering to patrol the residential area. He tells Tommy that he saw another group of hunters getting close to the farm area, that he's with only two other people and he needs help. Tommy tells him to call Maria, because his group needs to move to the south gate, to check on new intruders there and Maria`s men are close to that part. After that, he and his men move out and walk to one of the houses where they store some extra ammunition; that way, he and his men can reload their weapons and continue on their way to the south gate.

Five minutes later, Maria arrives at a little house that is close to the barn. She and a few others enter through the back door and meet Marlon inside the house.

"Hello… unnnmm... Marlon, right?" says Maria as soon as she enters the living room and starts to look around.

"Thanks for coming so quick - we're almost out of ammunition, did you bring extra?" asks Marlon.

"Yes, we brought some - Dan, pass out the ammunition. Now what is the situation?" asks Maria, getting close to one of the windows.

"Well... we're lucky that they're worse shooters than the Stormtroopers… sorry, I just... Okay, never mind. There were ten when we arrived. Five of them ran in the direction of the stables, and the other five went into the barn and took position there," explains Marlon while he gets close to Maria.

"Okay, any word from Victor and his family?" asks Maria.

"No, but I don't think that he evacuated with the others... he has some horses in the stables so he has to be there. But I don't hear any shooting from there, so I don't know."

"Okay, we need to take care of the one in the barn first. Any suggestions?" asks Maria, turning around and looking at all the men in the room.

In the other part of the town, a man leads a young woman and her two children - one is ten and the other is just five - from a house, pushing them down on their knees in front of it.

"Okay, we're looking for a girl that is living in this town. She's like sixteen years old and has a bite mark on her right arm. Her name is Ellie, so if any of you know who she is or where she is, you'd better start talking, because the last family we asked wasn't much help, and we had to kill them," says Jayson, looking at the young woman, and starting to take out a pistol from his side holster and point it at one of the children.

"Please don't hurt my children - I just came here last year, so I don't know many of the people in here," says the woman, holding her two children close.

"Well, if that's the case, we're wasting our time here, so that means that we need to find someone else that can give us that information. Okay, boys, time to move out, and we don't need any witnesses so, Alan, take them inside the house and shoot them," says Jayson to one of his men.

"Wait!... wait!... please, if you want someone who knows everyone in this town, just find Tommy or Maria … they can help you… they are the ones in charge of this town... but please don't kill my children... please," begs the woman of the man pointing a gun at them.

"Okay then, so where can we find this… Tommy person?" says Jayson, looking at the woman now.

"I don't think you have to look very hard to find him," says Tommy as he and his men come out from the side of a nearby house.

Jayson and his men quickly point their guns in the direction of Tommy and his men. "And who might you be?" Jayson asks with an irritated voice.

"Well, my name is Tommy, and I'm in charge of this town… well, my wife is… but I don't think you care about that. So if you're looking for someone here, you can ask me, but I don't think you're going to like the answer," says Tommy, now pointing his gun at them.

After Tommy says that, the leader of the intruders and his men start shooting at Tommy and his group. They hit one of them in the leg and he falls to the ground in pain; the others move quickly to get cover from the bullets and start shooting back. In the confusion, the woman takes her two children in her arms and runs into her house. With that, Jayson's people start moving to get cover, too.

 ***One hour earlier at the dam***

One hour after Harry talks to the people on the radio, they continue shooting at the intruders that try to enter the dam. They use a grenade to blow the entrance, but since the front door is made of steel, the grenade just damages the door. After a while, they just keep their distance and only attack from the side. Since it's still dark, the guards are using the light reflector to see the surroundings and keep the attackers away from the walls.

"Hey, do you see something?" asks one of the guards.

"No, and I don`t like that. They've been quiet for more than twenty minutes. I know that they're planning something," says the other guard on the wall.

As the two men are talking, another person comes down from the watch post and starts to talk to them. "Hey guys, Harry wants to know if you see anyone coming from the west forest?" asks the woman.

"No, Nancy, we haven't seen anything that's not close to here, even with the little light from the moon tonight," says one of the men.

"Okay! But keep an eye over there. Harry said that help is coming," says the woman from below.

"Seriously! So he gets to communicate with Jackson? I thought that the radio wasn't working,"

says the other one.

"I'm not sure. I just came with the message. Carmen was the one in charge of that," says the woman, moving away.

"Hey Nancy, how are Finn and Zack, are they okay?"

"Well, Finn is better, just a graze on the leg, but Zack got hit by the grenade explosion, so Marlyn is with him now. But she thinks he's not going to make it... he lost a lot of blood."

"Shit, he has a family back in town. Those mothefuckers out there are going to pay," says one of the men, looking mad.

"Hey! I think that something is moving out there - look," says one of the men, pointing to a big rock close by. "You think those are the reinforcements?"

"No! Get down!... They're back!" As soon as they take cover, the men outside start to shoot at them.

(Inside the forest, a little close to the dam)

"Hey, did you hear that?" asks one of the three patrol guys.

"Yeah, that sounds like gunfire. That means that we're close," says another one, getting close to the tree line.

"Okay, now what?" asks Brad.

"Well, there are some old buildings at the other side of the dam - maybe we can go there and check if the hunters are on that side."

After that, they start to walk out of the forest but close to the line of trees. After a few minutes, they arrive close to the dam water gates. Then the leader of the group asks for the night vision binoculars and starts looking at the place.

"Okay, I see there are a few of them in the building area… So I think they're going to attack the dam from behind. That means that the gunshots we heard earlier was a distraction," says the leader of the group.

"So what do we do?" asks Jenna, moving closer to him.

"Stop them, of course - lucky for us, they don't know we're here, so I think that we can take them by surprise," says the leader, continuing to look at the building.

"What's the plan, sir?" asks one of the men.

"Okay, me and my men are going to take the long way up, and the two kids are going to cross the dam gate bridge, and get to the other side. That way we can have them by two sides and take it down."

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Brad asks the leader. "We don't know how many there are."

"Yes, this is going to work - okay, now you two go and wait fifteen minutes. That's the time we need to get up there."

After that, the two groups go their respective ways. Jenna and Brad go to the dam bridge and start to cross. After a few minutes, they are on the other side and slowly move to one of the abandoned buildings. Brad and Jenna enter through a hole in the back of a small building and get close to a window. They look outside and see a few men preparing their weapons, then Brad sits down and looks at Jenna.

"This is crazy - I just saw five men out there, and maybe there's more inside the other buildings," says Brad, looking at Jenna.

"I know, but we don't have any choice - we can't let them destroy the dam. And if we help the people inside the dam, maybe we can convince some of them to help us get back that old factory and help Ellie and the others," says Jenna in a lower voice, then she goes and sits beside Brad on the ground.

Brad takes one of Jenna's hands and interlaces his fingers with hers. "What are we going to do?" he says, looking at their two hands together.

"Well… as soon as the others arrive here, we take down these fuckers and find any help we-"

"No! I mean _us_. What's going to happen when all of this is over?" asks Brad, now looking at her.

"Oh, well, maybe it's better if we talk about that later… okay?" says Jenna, looking at him. "Now we need to focus on this."

"Yeah, I know, but I don't want anything to happen to you, and I have a bad feeling about this. Jenna… I just want you to be safe. After today I don't know what I'd do without you," says Brad while some tears crawl down his cheek.

"Shhh… Brad, look at me, okay?" Jenna puts one hand on his face. "Nothing bad is going to happen, okay, we're going to be fine - we're going to save the town and Ellie and the rest."

Then Jenna gets close to him, and when she's about to kiss him, they hear the sound of guns shooting outside the little building.

"Fuck, they're early! Okay, c`mon, let's finish this," says Brad, standing up and extending his arm to Jenna.

"Okay, let's go," says Jenna, taking his hand and standing up. Then they both reload their guns and walk towards the door.

More gunshots can be heard outside, then Brad puts his hand on the doorknob and looks at Jenna. "Ready?" says Brad.

"Ready," answers Jenna.

"Okay, just stay behind me, and watch your shot," says Brad while he opens the door and starts shooting, as soon as he and Jenna get out of the building. As he does that, he sees a few bodies on the ground and hears one of the hunters telling the others to shoot at them. Then he sees one of the men throw something at them; he quickly turns around and grabs Jenna, hugs her in his arms, and throws himself back into the building.

The object explodes in front of the building and sends them flying inside, onto the floor. Brad lands on top of Jenna with some of the debris on top of him as the building fills with smoke. After a few minutes, Jenna starts to cough, and sees Brad on top of her, immobile. She quickly moves him to the side and starts shaking him and calling his name.

"Brad!... Brad!... oh, please don't do this to me… please," says Jenna with tears in her eyes.

Outside, the men start standing up from the ground, recovering from the explosion. "You idiot, I told you to shoot at them, not blow them up," says the leader.

"Sorry... It was just reflexes," says one of the men.

"Shit! Now the people in the dam will know that we're here, moron. Now you two go in there and kill any survivors, and the rest of you, let's go and find the last one of the other three that shot at us," says the leader.

The others start to move around, looking for the man that escaped. Then the other two enter the building when the smoke disperses a little, and they find Brad on the floor, Jenna crying on top of him.

"Well!... well… well, what do we have here?" says one of the men, moving closer to the couple on the floor.

"They survived?... shit, that is lucky, but the boss said to kill any survivors," says the other man. Then Jenna raises her head and looks at the two men getting close to her.

"Yeah… but I haven't had a good fuck for two months, so go and check if the boy is dead and I'll take care of the girl." As soon as the man starts to get close to Jenna, they hear a vehicle outside, along with some shooting. Then one of the men tells the other to go outside and check what's happening out there. When the man sees his partner go outside, he gets close to Jenna and grabs her by the arm. She has some cuts and a wound on her head; she is a little dizzy, but she still sees the man who is grabbing her.

"Please don't hurt him," says Jenna to the man.

"Oh, don't worry about your friend - if he's not dead yet, he's going to be soon, and you're going to join him as soon as I have a little fun with you." Then the man hears more shooting outside. He drops Jenna to the floor and turns around with his shotgun in hand to see two men walk inside.

"Sorry, but your fun time is over, asshole." As the man in the entrance says that, the hunter tries to move quickly to shoot, but too late - the man in the entrance shoots at him first. When the hunter falls down dead, the two men walk close to Jenna and tell her, "Don't worry, kid, you're safe now."

"Carl?" is the only word she says before losing consciousness, landing on top of Brad's body.

 ***Early in the old factory in the forest***

One hour after Michael ordered one of his men to inject Ellie with some kind of solution that they use to knock out infected, he comes back to the room where Ellie is being held. He orders the man guarding the door to open it, and as soon as he does, he goes inside. Another guard is inside and so is Chris, who is checking on Ellie; she is still in the chair they tied her to.

"How is she?" asks Michael as soon as he gets close to Ellie.

"Well, the drug is almost done taking effect, so I think she'll be ready soon," answers Chris.

"Soon? You said that she'd be ready in one hour," says Michael, now looking at Chris with a penetrating look.

"Sorry, boss, but since I had to use a light dose, the effect is going to take a little more time," says Chris, a little nervous.

"Well, I think that I can kill a little time with your old man. What do you think, my little girl?" says Michael, grabbing Ellie's chin with one hand and tilting it up so she can look at him.

"What did you… do to… me?" asks Ellie with a sleepy tone.

"Oh, don't worry, it's just something so you can relax. But until then, I'll just go and have a little conversation with your old man, so that way he can be ready for the show," says Michael, then he lets go of her face and moves away from her.

"I swear... that if you do something to Joel... I will cut your balls off and make you... eat them."

"Well, well, isn't that lovely, but you should be more worried about what's going to happen to you than that old fossil. Okay now, you take all her clothing off except her underwear, and dress her in the t-shirt you found. Then wait until I send for her and bring her to the old man's room, okay?" says Michael to the guard.

"Yes, boss," says the guard.

Michael starts to walk to the door and stops. He turns around and looks at the guard. "Oh, another thing - if you or anyone else touches her, you're going to pay for that. Is that clear?" says Michael.

"Yes, boss, everything's okay, no problem," says the man, walking now to pick up the t-shirt from a little table close by.

Then he starts to walk again to the door and open it; when he exits the room, he hears someone calling him from down the corridor.

"Michael, is that true? That you caught the girl?" says Lukas while he walks close to him.

"Lukas! What the hell are you doing here? I thought I sent you with the team that was going to attack the dam," says Michael with a surprised expression.

"Yeah, you did, but we were a mile away when I heard that some of the men captured a girl, so I came back soon after that," says Lukas.

"So you left your mission to come back here? Why did you do that?" asks Michael.

"Well, now that you have both of them, we can stop all this," says Lukas, getting close now.

"Stop what!... look, let's go so we can talk in my office, okay?" says Michael, putting his arm around his shoulders and moving away.

After a few minutes, they enter Michael's office and close the door. Michael goes to his desk and starts to look for something. "What do you mean by stopping all this?" says Michael.

"Attacking the town was a mistake; a lot of the men are going to die there. But now that you got the two of them, that's not necessary. You can call Brandon and the others to cancel the raid on the town and come back, then you can give the girl to the Fireflies," says Lukas, moving close to the desk.

"I'm sorry that you're thinking that way, but I'm not stopping anything. That town is going to burn. And about the Firefly members that are with the attack group - they don't know that I have the girl, so maybe I'm going to keep her after I kill the old man," says Michael, looking at Lukas.

"Can you hear yourself? Even if it was a mistake to make a deal with those Fireflies, now you're going to betray them? Do you know what they're going to do if they find out?"

"They're not going to find out anything - they'll probably die in the attack, and if not, I can get rid of them as soon as they come back here," says Michael, finding what he was looking for and walking in front of Lukas, putting one hand on his shoulder.

"Please, you need to stop this. You're the leader of our group now, and you need to think about the people we left behind. You took almost all the men from the town to come here - what do you think is going to happen to them if all the men get killed? This obsession of yours need to- Ahhhgggg…" Lukas opens his eyes wide as he realizes what just happened.

"I told you that no one is going to stop me from doing this, not even you. Sorry, my friend, but if you would have just gone with the others and did what I told you to do, none of this would have

happened," says Michael, pulling the knife out of Lukas's stomach.

"I… was your… friend…" says Lukas while he drops down to the floor as blood is escaping his body.

"Yeah, you were, but you didn't have to cross me. The irony of this is that this little pocket knife belonged to the girl. It was with the things you and your men brought from the lake. And it's probably the same one that she used to kill my brother, so now I'm going to use that to kill her old man in front of her. I'm sorry that you don't see things the way I do, but that was your mistake, and now look at you. Goodbye, my friend."

Michael moves away from the body and starts to walk to the door, then looks back and shakes his head while looking at Lukas's body on the floor. Then he opens the door, steps out, closes it behind him, and walks in the direction where he has Joel tied up.

After a few minutes, Michael arrives at the room where Joel is. There is one guard at the door. When he gets close to the guard, he asks him if there were any problems with the guest. When the man answers no, he proceeds to enter the room, and tells the man that he doesn't want any interruptions until he calls for him. Then he closes the door behind him.

When he enters, the room is illuminated with a small gas lamp. There isn't much in the room; he orders someone to remove the little table in there and replace it with a bigger one. Joel is still tied with his hands behind his back in a wooden chair; he has some cuts on his face and arms, one black eye, and bruises on various parts of his body. The room is a little hot, and Joel is now wearing some pants and a shirt that they gave him.

"Well… How is our guest today? I see that my man has paid you a little visit… umm," says Michael, getting close to Joel.

"What…. The hell… you want? Why don't you just… kill me already… because I'm not going… to tell you… anything," says Joel in a lower voice.

"Oh, don't worry, I didn't come here to ask you anything. I just want to have a nice chat with you, that's all," says Michael while leaning against the table in front of Joel.

"Great… now you're going to torture me... with your bullshit… I prefer the punches," says Joel with a little smile on his face.

"Well... That's funny. I didn't know you had that in you now after all these years living in this shit world. You know that you and your little girl were hard to find? Yeah, I've been looking for the both of you for almost two years now. You came to our little community and started to kill our people, including my brother. That wasn't very polite," says Michael, now moving around in front of Joel.

"Yeah… maybe if your… people didn't trap… visitors and make them… part of the menu… maybe things would go differently for them," says Joel.

"Well, we all have to find a way to survive in this fucking world, don't you think?"

"Yeah, some… people do, but your kind… is the worst. And if you think… that your little raid is going to work in Jackson… you will soon know your mistake."

"Yeah, your town... don't worry about that. With the deal I made with the Fireflies, that part is going to be easier now. They gave us very powerful weapons, and even sent a few men to us... yes, some Firefly commandos or something," says Michael, smiling at Joel.

"You brought Firefly men here?" Joel asks, with a worried expression.

"Oh yeah, they're on the way to your town right this very moment, and if _I_ was eager to find you, this man was _obsessed_. The leader of the group I found... he didn't tell me why, but he was looking for you two. I don't remember his name, but he's one of the new leaders of the Fireflies. The army cut them down hard a few years ago, but they're coming back together again. I don't know if that's a good thing, but for us, that doesn't matter."

"You are a fool… if you think that… you can make any deal… with them. They're going to betray you sooner or later," says Joel.

"Well, I can see that you have some history with them. Not a good one, from the way this man wants to find you. It was hard to make the deal with him because he wants you so bad, but as I promised him the girl in exchange for him letting me take care of you if I found you both, he barely accepted it. As much as he wants to put his hands on you, I think that he wants the girl more, but don't worry, we're both going to have our winning prize. He didn't tell me why the Fireflies want this girl so desperately. He didn't have her description, just her name, but he had a good description of you. He was so desperate to find you, he said that he was looking for you for more than a year. I have to say that you are becoming a popular man. Jesus, I wonder why... you and that girl of yours are really something," says Michael, now looking at Joel.

"You can say whatever you like… You may have me… so you can kill me if you want... but you're never going… to have her… If you are so stupid to make this deal with the Fireflies... your people are going to die in… the raid and so are… you after that," says Joel with a furious expression now.

"Well, we'll see about that, but for now, I have a special show just for you. And since someone was so brave in coming here to try to rescue you, it's time to bring in the main star of the show," Michael says, spreading his hands open like he's announcing a circus show, then he calls the guard outside and tells him to tell Chris to bring the surprise here.

( outside the building )

"Okay, the guards have stopped looking, so now there's just a few of them. The others probably went inside the building," says Bob, taking cover behind one of the old rusted cars in the parking lot.

"Wow, how many do you think there are inside?" asks Dylan, getting close to Bob.

Bob and Dylan are returning to the parking lot in front of the big building, after a little more than an hour. They had to leave early to make sure that the guard didn't find them there. Now they come back with a plan of how to get Joel and Ellie out of this place.

"Even with the jeep that arrived about twenty minutes ago, I only saw two men getting out of the car, so I assume there can be no more than ten or twelve in there," explains Bob.

"Okay, so what's the plan? You said that we can attack them directly, so what are we going to do?" asks Dylan.

"Well, there has to be some ammunition and gas left in the second building, so we're going to blow that up. That's going to be a good distraction for the guard outside. There's just one guard in front of that building and two more in the big one, so the rest have to be in the one in the back. So you're going to infiltrate the second building. I'll go to the third one, and when I give you the signal, make some noise to attract the attention of the guard, and when the guards are inside, you blow up all the ammunition and gas they have there, okay?" explains Bob to Dylan.

After they make sure that the guard doesn't see them, they go to their respective places. After a few minutes, Dylan enters through a window in the back of the second building, and Bob moves to the last one… the one they'd taken Ellie to.

( Inside the third building )

Inside the little room, Joel is trying to break the rope that ties his hands in the back. He's been trying for a while, and now he feels that the chair is a little weaker in the back. _If I have a slight chance to jump backward with the chair, I think I can break it-,_ Joel is taken out of his thoughts when he hears a knock in the door.

"Oh, I think that my little surprise has arrived - what do you think, old man, umm you want to see the new star of this show? I bet you're going to like this one." Michael smiles at Joel's face, then looks at the door. "You may enter now, Chris, and bring our little gift in here for the old man," Michael says to the man outside the door.

Joel opens his eyes wide when he sees the door open and a man enter with Ellie. He can't believe what he's seeing - after all he's done to keep his girl safe, his Ellie, the one person he cares about, the most important thing in his life… they have her. The man brings Ellie close to that sicko, and the only thing passing through his mind is how he's going to kill this man now more than ever, if something happens to Ellie.

"C'mon, Ellie, don't be shy, here's someone that is going to be glad to see you," says Michael, dragging Ellie in front of Joel.

"… Joel?" says Ellie with a sleepy voice.

"Yes… baby it's me… don't worry, you're… going to be okay," says Joel, trying to look her in the eye.

"Are… you really here?… or is this a dream?" says Ellie, trying to see if this is real or not.

"Yes... baby I'm real, okay?" Joel says, trying not to show her his pain.

"I think, I came here to rescue you... but I don't know what happened, and then he told me that I have to do… a show for you," Ellie says without thinking too much.

"You motherfucker!... What did you do to her?" asks Joel, angrier.

"Joel!... Joel, you shouldn't be talking like that in front of a young lady - what's she going to think of you? And as for what I did? I just made her relax a little. She's a fighter. I can see now why my brother liked her so much. She's like a wild animal that just needs to be domesticated. It's a shame that I have to give her to them," says Michael, caressing her face in front of Joel.

"Them?... are we going to see other people too?" says Ellie, almost incoherently.

"Oh… yes, you're going to know other people too, but not now. Now is the time to start the show. What do you think, Joel, you want to see the show now?"

"Please… I'll do whatever you want… you can kill me however you like or we can make a deal… I can help you get anything you want. But please, just let her go," Joel pleads, trying to distract the man while he continues to try to cut the rope that is holding him in the chair.

"Let her go? My most precious thing in this world right now, the instrument of my vengeance… are you serious? I never thought I would see you beg, old man. Oh, but don't worry, your time is going to come soon, and I don't know what they want with her, but from what I can see, it's not going to be anything good, either. But before all of that happens, I think it's time to start the little show, just for you. What do you think, Ellie? You want to give your old man a goodbye show?" says Michael to Ellie, close to her ears.

"Yes, I want to give Joel everything!" says Ellie, looking at Joel with a little smile.

"Well, that's good, don't you think, Joel? Your little girl wants to give you a good show. C'mon, Ellie, it's time to show Joel how good you are." Michael starts to pass his tongue over Ellie`s cheek and grab one of her tits, then he looks at Joel and smiles.

"Don't you dare touch her… you hear me, you fucking bastard! When I finish with you you're going to look worse than your brother!" says Joel in a furious tone.

"Wow, that's the spirit! Now I'm going to do what my brother almost did two years ago, before this little fucker killed him. And you, my friend, are going to have a front row seat at the show." Saying that, Michael grabs Ellie by the arm and moves her to the table in front of Joel.

Joel feels like something is burning inside of him as he sees Michael take Ellie and bend her over the top of the table. He notices now that Ellie just has a long t-shirt on, and is barefoot with no pants. He struggles in the chair and tries to break free - he needs to do something. He yells at the man to stop when he sees Michael pull up the t-shirt and expose Ellie`s underwear.

"Joel… what's going on?… I feel strange! I just want to go home?" says Ellie in a lower voice, now looking at Joel.

"STOP!..." yells Joel when he sees Michael starting to lower Ellie's panties.

"Oh, don't worry, Joel, just enjoy the show, and maybe when I finish, I'll invite some of my men to participate. And you can watch it all - your little girl getting fucked, your town burning to ashes... all your friends there are going to die too, and all because of... YOU!" As he's about to pull her underwear down, an explosion can be heard outside the building. After that, they can feel the vibration in the building, and hear some gunshots. "What the hell was that?" Michael asks the guard standing at the door.

"I don't know, boss, it sounded like an explosion," says the guard.

"Well... then why don't you two go and check that out - I don't want any interruptions," says Michael to Chris and the other man.

The two men go and open the door, and as soon as they get out of the room, they see someone coming down the corridor.

"Hey! What are you doing here, you're supposed to be- what the hell?" says the guard when he sees Lukas throw a grenade in front of the door. The two men try to take cover, but it's too late; the grenade explodes in the room's entrance, killing the two men outside, and part of the blast goes inside the room, sending everyone inside flying with the force of the explosion.

After a few minutes, the smoke starts to clear a little, but part of the front wall is destroyed. Then Lukas enters the room and sees everyone on the floor. He starts to move slowly through the rubble, with a gun in one hand and the other holding his stomach. There's still some smoke inside but when he gets close to the destroyed table, he sees Ellie on the floor. She's not moving, but he doesn't care right now. Then he sees Michael on the floor close to Ellie's body, so he proceeds to get close to him with his gun pointed at him.

"You fucking bastard, you made everyone die and tried to kill me… and for what? For some stupid revenge? Your brother was a lunatic, and from what I can see, you are worse, so now it's time to put a stop to all of this as you're going to-" Lukas is cut off when he hears a few gunshots and feels the impact in his chest.

"You shouldn't have said that about my brother, or interfered in my business," says Michael while he sees how Lukas drops down dead on the floor. After that, Michael starts to get up. He has some blood and cuts on him as he starts to move closer to Ellie's body. "And you little shit! You're coming with me after I kill your old man." As he's about to point his gun looking for Joel, he feels someone tackle him hard to the floor.

He drops the gun as soon as he hits the floor hard, and when he turns to see who is attacking him, he sees that it's Joel; the explosion sent Joel flying, and when he landed, the chair broke, and he got free. "I told you that if you touched her, I'd kill you with my own hands," says Joel while he starts to hit him in the face.

The two men start to fight for a few minutes on the floor, hitting each other everywhere they can. After a while, Michael pushes away from Joel a little and takes a knife out of his pocket. He gets up and tries to stab Joel in the stomach. Joel pushes himself back and tries to grab the knife from him. Joel is not in good condition; the pain from possibly broken ribs is not helping him, and he also has some cuts from the explosion.

But Michael is not in good shape either. He has some cuts from the explosion too, so he tries to move around the debris and tries again to cut Joel, but this time he makes a cut in Joel's leg - the same one that was cut before. Joel screams in pain, but he hits Michael in the face and sends him flying back to the wall. Then Joel quickly grabs him by the neck and starts to strangle him.

"Before I kill you… you're going to tell me… who is the motherfucking Firefly leader... that is after us?" asks Joel while he closes the grip on Michael's neck.

"Jooooel!" Ellie moves a little on the floor and calls him in a lower voice.

Then Joel looks around and sees that Ellie is moving on the floor, and in the distraction, Michael takes the knife and stabs Joel in the stomach. Joel cries in pain and steps back. When Michael tries to stab him again, Joel gets a grip on his hand and extracts the knife from it, then pushes Michael to the floor by kicking him in the guts.

Michael moves around and sees the gun close by, so he tries to move quickly and grab the gun, but Joel moves quickly too; he takes the knife in his hand and stabs Michael in the chest. Michael cries in pain as blood starts to spurt out of the wound, then Joel moves closer to him. "You fool… you think you won… you might… kill me… but he is going… to come for you… you're not going… to save her… my reward will be knowing… that both of you are… going to die... and all the people you care about… too…" As soon as he finishes, Joel takes the knife out and stabs him again and again… he does that a few times, until he starts to get dizzy and drops to the floor next to Michael.

"Yeah, that may be so, but you ain't going to be around to see. By the way, say hello to your fucking… brother in hell," Joel says in a lower voice. He is looking at the ceiling when he remembers Ellie; he turns his head and looks in the direction of Ellie's body, which isn't moving now. "I'm alway going to do anything I have to do to… protect you, Ellie, because I… love you," says Joel in a low voice, then he starts to crawl toward Ellie's body. He touches her neck and feels her pulse. _She is alive, thank God,_ he says to himself, and then he hears some people enter the room. He passes out, close to Ellie.

After Joel passes out, Dylan and Bob enter the room quickly and see Joel and Ellie on the floor. Bob tells Dylan to check on Ellie as he goes to check on Joel. Dylan tells him that Ellie seems okay, just some minor cuts and bruises, but unconscious, then he looks at Bob. Bob tells him that Joel is alive, but he has a serious wound and needs medical attention quickly.

Bob orders Dylan to take Ellie to the jeep outside and then come back to help him carry Joel to the car, too. Bob cuts some fabric and presses it firmly against Joel's wound to try to stop the bleeding. "Hang in there, man, you're going to be fine," says Bob.

"Ellie…" Bob hears Joel say. Joel tries to open his eyes, then loses consciousness again.

"Don't worry, man, you two are going to be alright, we're going to take you both home, I promise," says Bob as he waits for Dylan to come back.


	21. Chapter 21 : Why Love is so Complicated

**Disclaimer :** I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

 **A/N:** **Warning:** Hi I just want to let you know, that this chapter contains a sex scene at the end of the chapter. This story already have a warning for that, but this is just in case. So if you don't like read about those thing, please just skip that part thanks. **Another note:** if the words of this chapter seen a little strange is because is seen like the FFN have some kind the problem with the (doc manager) and I have to copy this to a note pad and tram fer this from there. I normally copy this from my google doc, so I don`t know what happen this time, but I hope that is good enough, thanks.

* * *

 **Chapter 21 : Why Love is so Complicated**

 ***A month later in Jackson***

Four weeks have passed since the attack on Jackson county. Maria and Tommy are trying to get everything back to normal, but that is going to take time. The damage to the town was great, but could have been worse. Some houses got burnt and destroyed during the attack, some of the fence was destroyed too, as well as some of the watchtowers and one of the main gates. In the first few days after the attack ended, Maria moved her people to start the cleaning process, after the town's wounded people were moved to the clinic or any place that was clean so they could be attended. The most grave cases were sent to the clinic - gunshot wounds and serious cuts and burns. The people with less serious injuries were sent to their homes as soon as their wounds were attended; Maria assigned some volunteers to attend those cases.

After that, Tommy moved his people to clean and remove all the infected bodies from town, and to make sure that no one who got close to them got infected - all the people of the town were checked to ensure that they were clean of any infection. They moved all the bodies to a place in the forest and burned them, so that no contamination was registered in the town. Tommy sent Albert to the dam with a repair team to assist in the repair on the defenses and to make sure that they weren't going to lose the electricity. After that, he asked the construction team to start to work on a temporary repair on the fence and the damaged gate. After all the work started, they moved the townspeople who died in the attack to the abandoned house on a street in the far corner of the town, so the family and friends could identify them and start the process of burying them as soon as possible.

In the first week, more people got assigned to guard the perimeter until everything for the defense of the town was repaired. A meeting was convened with all the townspeople by Maria; she and Tommy informed the town of the situation, and all they needed to know and do. They told them that the total of the dead was twenty-seven and the wounded was more than fifty, but only twenty were serious cases. They informed them that the farm and food supply suffered minimal damage so in that regard, they were okay. Carl and his group were sent to check everywhere close to the perimeter of the town to make sure that if any of the hunters that attacked the town escaped, they don't come back. They were lucky that Carl's group returned at the right time because they saved the dam and some of the people there, and got back to town and helped Tommy with the other attackers in there. So now, a few weeks later, they are trying to get back to normal the best they can.

Ellie woke up three days after Bob and Dylan brought them back to town. Ellie just had some minor wounds and burns, nothing serious; the drug that they gave her had worn off by that time. Jenna came to visit her as soon as she woke up, as she was in the clinic anyway, visiting Brad. He suffered some burns, some minor cuts, and a broken leg; he stayed in the clinic for two weeks until he was sent home so that his mother could take care of him until he fully recovered. Joel's wounds were more serious; he lost a lot of blood before he got to clinic, so he had to receive a blood transfusion.

He stayed in the clinic for two weeks until all his wounds healed enough that Ellie insisted she could take care of him in the house. Since the clinic was full, the doctor agreed to release all the patients that didn't need immediate attention. After they finished with the blood transfusion, they sent him home with Ellie; since Ellie had practiced in the clinic, she was able to take care of him. After Joel was sent home, Maria and Tommy came to visit a few times. They didn't stay long because they had a lot of things to do, but they wanted to make sure that Ellie and Joel were okay. The drug that the doctor gave him for the pain was keeping him in bed most of the time while he'd been home with Ellie.

Since he can't walk much yet, Ellie is taking care of him, cleaning the wound on his leg and changing the bandage. She tries to talk to him about what happened, but he always makes an excuse and changes the subject.

(Three days earlier, Ellie)

 _I was in the kitchen. It was early in the afternoon, and Joel was still in bed. The wound seemed to be getting better, and the doc came here yesterday and said that it's healing right. He told Joel that it was okay for him to start to try to use his leg, that it's going to be difficult at first but that was part of the process of healing. The broken ribs are healed now, and the bruises on his face and body are almost gone now. I'm glad that the doc came personally and didn't send Rose again - she came a few times to check on Joel, and I had to tell her that he's fine and that she doesn't need to check on him since I was the one the doc appointed to make sure he's fine.-_ Ellie is taken out of her thoughts when she hears a knock at the door.

Ellie leaves what she is doing, moves to the front door, and opens it. "Hi," Ellie says as soon as she sees Jenna standing in front of the house.

"Hello, it's nice to see that you're fine," says Jenna while she enters the house and gives Ellie a hug.

"Yeah, I didn't see you for a few days, so I hope that everything's okay," says Ellie, returning the hug.

"Yeah, sorry about that, but everything out there is in chaos. I was coming to see you yesterday, but I had to help my mom move some of the food that was in storage, that wasn't damaged during the attack. And since Brad is out for at least one more month, we have to do all that ourselves," says Jenna, breaking the hug.

"It's okay, I'm glad that you come to visit from time to time. I know that you're busy and that-" Ellie is interrupted.

"I'm never going to be too busy for you, Ellie, don't you get that?" says Jenna.

"Thanks, you're the best!" says Ellie, moving toward the kitchen again.

"Now, I assume that Joel is upstairs, right?" asks Jenna, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Yeah, he's probably sleeping - the drug that the doc gave him for the pain keeps him sleeping much of the time," Ellie explains as she starts to grab some bread to prepare a sandwich.

"Yeah, I bet he was seriously wounded… so how is he?" asks Jenna.

"Well, most of his bruises are gone now, and the stab in his stomach is healing well, and the one in his leg, too. The doc said that he can start to walk right, very soon, so that's good news."

"Well, that's great, so... you two… you know... talked?" asks Jenna, looking at Ellie with curious eyes.

"Talked?" Ellie says, now looking at Jenna.

"Yeah, you know, about all that happened, and about, you know… you two?" says Jenna, trying not to press the subject too much.

"No, we haven't talked too much since we came back to the house. Well, we talk about regular things, but not about what happened there, or about us," says Ellie, getting back to preparing the sandwich.

"Well, you have time for that later, I guess, when he feels better," says Jenna, looking at the table now.

"Yeah, I guess. So how is Brad?" asks Ellie, now looking at Jenna with curiosity in her eyes.

"Well, besides his broken leg, he's okay... the other wounds are almost healed now," answers Jenna with a smile.

"Yeah, I heard that he saved your life, and now he's your... boyfriend?" says Ellie with a little grin on her face.

"Oh, shut up!... Who told you that?" says Jenna, with a little red color in her face.

"Well, it doesn't matter, the thing is that I'm happy for you, but you need to tell me all the details now."

"Well, I don't know how to start, but I can tell you that he is a brave boy," says Jenna, smiling.

They stay in the kitchen like two hours just talking. Jenna tells Ellie how Brad was so brave when they were in the forest, how he was going to risk his life to get the horses at the old houses where they left them. But lucky for them, there were three men there from Jackson that Tommy had sent looking for them. Jenna also told her what he did at the dam to save her life.

(Present day in the morning in the house)

It's 9:00 in the morning, and Ellie just prepared some breakfast… well, some toast and orange juice, but it's okay for now. So she puts it all on a tray and starts to walk upstairs to Joel`s room. After all that Joel has done for her, it's only fair that now she takes care of him. When Ellie arrives at the room, she sees that Joel is sitting up in bed, looking out the window.

"Hey! You're supposed to be resting," says Ellie as soon as she enters the room, carrying the tray.

"Well, I think that I've been resting for a long time now, and I think that I need a shower," says Joel, now looking at Ellie.

"That's great, Joel - the doc said that you need to get back on your feet and start to exercise the leg. So let me help you with that. Let me put the food on the table and I can take you to the bathroom, okay?" she says, setting the tray on a little table that Joel has in his room.

"Ellie, I don't need your help for that. I think that I can walk to the bathroom and take a shower by myself, okay?" says Joel, a little angry now.

"Okay!... So you want to talk about why you're mad at me?" says Ellie, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Ellie, I'm not mad at you, I just don't need your help for that," Joel tries to explain in a nicer voice now.

"Well, it looks like because of all that happened, I see that you don't want to talk to me at all. We've been back home for two weeks now and you still don't want to talk."

"Ellie, I know that all this is difficult for you, but maybe it's better if we don't talk about what happened there, for now, okay."

"If you're talking about that psycho David's brother, I've already talked to Maria about it, and even though I don't remember much of what happened there, it started giving me nightmares again. That's not the only thing that we need to talk about, Joel," says Ellie.

"Well, I don't know what else you need to talk about besides that. I know that a lot happened here too and that we need to talk to Maria and Tommy-"

"Are you serious, Joel? I'm talking about what happened in the lake… I`m talking about us! We need to talk about what we're going to do," says Ellie with a firm voice.

"Us!... Ellie, I don't think it's a good idea to talk about that and-" Joel stops as soon as he hears some voices coming from downstairs.

"Ellie, Joel, are you two awake?" asks Tommy from downstairs.

"YES!" Ellie yells from inside Joel`s room. "We're in Joel`s room, you can come up." _This conversation is not over, Joel._

Tommy and Maria go up and enter the room and see Joel sitting on the bed and Ellie standing close to him. "Hey, I see that you feel a little better, now umm… big brother," Tommy says, looking at Joel.

"Yeah, it hurts less now that you're here to check on me," says Joel sarcastically.

"Well, I'm glad that you and Ellie are fine, after all that happened to the two of you."

"Oh yeah, it's going to take more than a psycho and a group of cannibals to get Joel and me killed," says Ellie, smiling.

"Well, those cannibals killed twenty-seven people in this town, so I think this was pretty serious," says Maria with a serious voice.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to say it in that way…" says Ellie, now looking at the floor.

"It's okay, we don't blame you for all this, even after you told me all about this guy," says Maria, looking at Ellie now.

"It ain't like I don't appreciate your visit, little brother, but I know that you and your wife have a lot to do. So why do I have the honor of you visiting here so early?" says Joel, trying to stand up from the bed.

"Well, I came here to ask Ellie if she can help me today with some of the things I need to do. That is, if it's okay with you, of course," says Maria, moving close to Ellie.

"Joel needs me here, so I don't know if I ca-" Ellie is interrupted.

"It's okay, Kiddo, I think I can be on my own for a few hours, and I have the feeling that my brother is going to give me some company for the time being," says Joel, looking at Ellie.

"Okay! If you're sure that you don't need me to help you."

"I'll be fine, just go and help Maria - it's the least that we can do after all this." As soon as Joel says that, Maria and Ellie go to Ellie's bedroom to change. After a few minutes, Joel can hear the two girls go down and out of the house.

"Okay, Brother, what's the problem that you want to talk about without Ellie here?" Joel asks as soon as he hears the door shut, and moving off of the bed.

"Well, we haven't had much time to talk in the past month, so now that you're feeling better, I think it's time," says Tommy, getting close to Joel now and trying to help him move around the room.

"Yeah, I know that this attack on the town and all the people that died on that night is practically my fault. Those motherfuckers were looking for us," says Joel while he moves out of the room, slowly.

"Yeah, that is all a tragedy. Ellie told Maria about that Michael guy and that he was that David man's brother. But Maria and I don't blame you or Ellie for that. Who would have known that that guy had a psycho brother that wanted revenge?" says Tommy while he follows Joel to the kitchen.

"Yeah I still feel bad for that - that maniac almost destroyed your town. Want something to drink?" says Joel as soon as he opens the fridge.

"Sure - have any beer? Yeah and for now it's better that that part of the attack stays between us. We don't want people trying to get revenge in here too, because of that," says Tommy while seating himself at the kitchen table.

"Well, you can start by telling that motherfucker Albert to stop saying to people how this was my fault. Now I have some of that shit that you people prepare here, but that's better than nothing, I guess," says Joel, going to the table and sitting, giving Tommy his beer.

After the two brothers drink some of the beer, they stay put, just waiting for the other to start talking. They just stay there without a word. How two brothers can be so awkward with each other, no one will ever know.

"Yeah, I told him to stop doing that. I told him that doing that shit is just going to bring more problems to town, and that Maria and I don't want that," says Tommy, taking another drink of the beer.

"Okay, if you didn't come here to talk about that, what brings you here, that you need Maria to take Ellie out of house?" asks Joel now with curiosity.

"The Fireflies!" says Tommy as quickly as he can.

"What!" answers Joel.

"The night of the attack, a group of well-armed men destroyed one of the main gates. They started to kill people, and when we got there, they tried to kill a family. They told them that they were looking for some old man and a girl. Does that ring a bell, Joel?"

"Those motherfuckers were looking for us?" says Joel, trying to hide the fact that he already knew that.

"Yeah, it seems so. Remember that I told you about Carl`s report on that town in the south of Colorado?" says Tommy.

"Yeah, you told me that there were some Fireflies looking for an old man and a girl, and that they are regrouping again," says Joel, remembering the conversation he had with his brother as soon as Carl came back from that trip.

"Well, they were Fireflies. We got lucky that Carl`s group showed up in time - we killed them all, and I made sure that nobody mentioned that those men were Fireflies. I removed all traces of what they were before I sent the bodies to burn with the others," Tommy explains about what happened that night.

"Why are you telling me this now?" asks Joel.

"Well, because I need to know if all of this is going to be a problem for us. If those Fireflies were working with those cannibals, I need to know if they told others that you and Ellie were here."

"Well, I didn't see them when they hid in the old factory," says Joel, trying to hide all he knows; he doesn't want to scare Tommy by telling him that the Fireflies are still looking for them.

"You said that you killed everyone in the hospital at Salt Lake City, right?"

"Yeah, I did… well, I think I did… why?"

"Well… someone survived. That's the only reason they're still looking for the both of you. And if those men that came here informed others that they thought you and Ellie were here, they're probably going to send someone here to check," says Tommy with a worried face.

"So what you're trying to say is that you and Maria want us to go before they come back?"asks Joel, a little worried now - not for himself, but for Ellie.

"Of course not, and Maria doesn't know about the Fireflies. I don't like lying to her, but I know that she's going to freak out as soon as she knows this. So it's better for now that she doesn't know, but we need to be sure that those assholes don't come here and start shooting people again."

"Well, you said that they did the same in that trade town, so maybe they do that randomly, and being here is just a coincidence," Joel tells Tommy, knowing that that is not exactly the truth, but he can't say anything to his brother, for now. So he hopes that the Fireflies didn't have enough time to inform others that he and Ellie were here.

After that, the two brothers continue their conversation, about other things. Tommy asks him about what happened in the factory, and if he and Ellie are okay. Joel asks about the town and how the repairs are going, and lets him know that as soon as he can walk better, he wants to help in the town.

 ***One week later in Jackson***

 _A week has passed and I'm not making any progress in getting Joel to talk to me about us. Every time I want to talk, Joel makes some excuse, or we're interrupted by someone visiting us - not only Tommy and Maria, but Dylan and Harold... even Bob has come to visit a few times. Joel is better now... his wounds are healing well, and he's starting to walk again. He asked Tommy to give him some shifts on the wall since for now, he can't work with the construction team. The fence was repaired, and the gate that was destroyed was replaced by now. Some of the wounded people who were still in the clinic have cleared out... only the more serious cases are still there, but lucky for the town, no more people have died so far, only the twenty-seven that died during the attack._

 _I started to work again, since Joel doesn't need me in the house all day and he's started to work again... I have to do something to distract myself. I'm having nightmares again... not so bad, but I wish that Joel would take me to his bed and hold me tight and tell me how much he loves me. Yes, that would be great - I know that a lot has happened, but why is Joel making himself distant again? I don't understand. Does he blame himself for what happened? I need to make him talk to me. I need him now more than ever, and I need a plan to do that soon._

( A few hours later in the greenhouse)

"Hey, I'm glad that you decided to come back to work - my mother really needs the help," says Jenna while she cuts some vegetables.

"Yeah, I needed to start to work again after all that happened, and Joel is starting to drive me insane," Ellie answers, looking at her friend now.

"I assume that the two of you haven't talked about… you know, right?"

"No, every time I want to talk, he just pushes me away or we get interrupted. I don't know what to do. I love him, but the more time passes, the more I feel like he's trying to move away from me. It's like he feels responsible for what happened - and I don't know what to do," says Ellie with some tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ellie, I know that this isn't what you planned, but maybe you need to give him time. Joel lived in a different time from us, and from what I can see, it could be more difficult for him to express what he feels, or maybe he doesn't feel the way you think he does," says Jenna, trying to comfort her.

"He told me that he loves me and he kissed me when we were in the lake, before those assholes ruined everything. I know that he has feelings for me, I just need a way to talk to him alone where no one will interrupt us... and I think I have a way to do that." Ellie smiles while an idea goes through her mind.

"I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this, so I hope that you know what you're doing, and please don't do anything stupid, okay?" says Jenna, shaking her head.

 ***One week later in Joel's house***

 _It's the first week of September, early in the morning when Joel opens his eyes as the first light of the morning sun hits him in the face. Shit, I feel like a car ran over me. I couldn't even sleep well last night. All I can think about is that the leader of the Fireflies is looking for Ellie. Shit, I have to do something... why are they still looking for her after all this time? They can't be looking for the cure... even if I didn't kill all the doctors they have, there is no cure. Doctor Wilson said already that the virus in Ellie's blood is not even close enough to find a cure for the fungus virus, but they said in the hospital that Ellie was a unique case and they need to cut Ellie`s brain out... yeah, like I was going to let that happen. Well, I'd better go make some breakfast before Ellie wakes up._

Joel gets up off the bed and goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth and change. After that, he goes downstairs and enters the kitchen. When he starts to gather all the things he needs to make some french toast and pancakes (Ellie's favorite), he sees a note on the kitchen table. Joel quickly rushes to the table, picks up the note, and starts to read.

 _To: Joel_  
 _I know that a lot has happened since we came to live here. I know that you care about me and I'm pretty sure that you feel something more. I know that you're afraid of what's going to happen to us if you show that, and we need to talk about that. I've tried several times, but you make some excuse or we get interrupted. I know a place where we can talk alone and in peace. So when you wake up and see this note, come to the place where I ran away the first time we came here. I'll be waiting for you there._  
 _With love, Ellie_

"What the fuck!" is the only thing Joel can say. He takes the note in his hand, runs up the stairs, and opens the door of Ellie's room. When he enters, Ellie isn't there, so he starts to look in the closet and sees that Ellie's backpack is gone, as well as other things. "Shit, girl, what the hell you think you're doing." He looks at the note again and starts to read the last part: _"come to the place where I ran away the first time we came here. I'll be waiting for you there". How the fuck did she get out of town? I have to go out there before something happens to her._

As soon as Joel realizes where Ellie went, he goes to his room, takes some of his guns and his backpack (they recovered their things from the factory when Carl and the others went there to recover all the things that the hunters left behind). After that, he leaves the house and goes to the stable to get a horse; of course, he needs to think of an excuse to tell Victor because he doesn't want to let everybody know that Ellie left town without his knowledge, and he needs to find her alone before Tommy and Maria start to ask questions that he doesn't want to answer. He tells Victor that he needs to do something at the dam, so he's going to do a patrol and then go to the dam. Victor thought that that was a little strange, but since Tommy was sending more patrols out there, he gave Joel the horse.

After that, he finds out that Dylan is working at one of the gates today - that's good for him, because he can talk Dylan into letting him out without the need to call Tommy. Joel has to hurry up; it's still early in the morning, and that's great because most of the people are still at their homes. And he needs to find Ellie before Tommy and Maria find out that the both of them left without their knowledge. He goes to the gate where Dylan is working and talks to him, as he trusts Dylan to not say anything. He tells him about Ellie being upset and that she left town during the night, explains that he knows where she went, and that he's going to bring her back before Tommy or Maria find out. Yes, he's going to be in trouble when he comes back, because Victor is going to mention something to Tommy when he starts to do his business in the town. Dylan agrees to not say anything, and if someone asks, he'll tell them that Joel went on a patrol to the dam. He thanks Dylan for the help and goes out through the gate. After he gets out, he tells himself that Ellie is going to be in real trouble when he finds her.

The place that Ellie referred to in the note is the little farmhouse she went to after Joel tried to ditch her with Tommy the first time they came here. _Why the hell did she pick that place in the first place?_ It's been almost two years since then, so that place has to be in ruins by now. The little farm was like four or five miles southwest of the dam; it's going to take a little more than half an hour to get there on horseback, so if she went on foot, it would have taken longer than that. _Shit, Ellie, what were you thinking?_ Some of those cannibals could still be out there, or worse - those Firefly assholes, too. If the ones that were working with that David's brother contacted their boss and told him about the town, and informed him about Joel and Ellie being in Jackson, this was going to be bad.

After a forty-minute ride, Joel arrives at the little farm; he doesn't know how it's possible, but the place is almost the same. He can't believe after more than a year since they came to this place, it's still intact. Joel quickly dismounts the horse, takes out his gun, and proceeds to enter the old house.

"ELLIE!... ELLIE!" He starts to call her as soon as he enters the house.

"I'm upstairs, Joel," answers Ellie.

As soon as Joel hears her, he goes upstairs and starts looking in all the rooms until he finds her in the same room that she was in the first time. She's sitting in the same spot by the window, waiting for him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Ellie? Do you know the kind of trouble you're going to be in for this? Not to mention risking your life like that - some of that Michael's men might still be out there, I don't think they were all killed in the attack," says Joel, lowering his weapon and entering the room.

"Can you believe this? After all this time, this place looks the same as the first time we were here, remember?" Ellie says without looking at Joel.

"Fuck, Ellie, is that all you're going to say? And how the fuck did you get out of the town without anybody seeing you, hmm?"

"Well… you don't think I'm going to tell you that, do you? And besides, you left me no other choice - I've tried to talk to you and you've just been avoiding me for weeks, so this is the only way I could think of to get your attention," says Ellie, now looking at him.

"Ellie, you don't need to risk your life for that. C'mon, let's go back to Jackson before Tommy and Maria find out that we left without informing them," says Joel, moving close to Ellie.

"No! Joel, we're not going to leave here until we have our talk," says Ellie, standing up from the window seat.

"Ellie, we can talk at home - it's not safe to be out here, so let's go. We're going home," says Joel, trying to grab one of Ellie's arms, but she moves away.

"No... as soon as we come back to the house, you're going to do the same thing and ignore me, so we're going to have our conversation here and now. Joel, I have feelings for you. I've had them for some time now so we need to talk about that."

"Ellie, I care about you too, but I don't see why we need to talk about that," says Joel, trying to change the subject.

"Joel, I mean that I`m in love with you, like a woman loves a man, and I know that you feel the same. I still remember the kiss you gave me in the lake... or did you forget about that?"

"Ellie, I'm sorry, that was something I shouldn't have done, because you-"

"I'm a kid? That's what you're going to say, Joel - you don't want to admit your feelings because you think I'm just a little girl?"

"Ellie, you don't understand - you're only sixteen years old, what you feel is just - it's just hormones. It's normal for a girl to feel attracted to an older man... that doesn't mean it's right," Joel says, trying to make some sense to Ellie.

"Yeah, I knew you were going to say something like that. I don't care about the age difference, and I'm not a little girl or innocent - and you know that. I love you, Joel, because of who you are, and what you make me feel... you are the only person that makes me feel safe and warm," Ellie says, trying to look Joel in the eye.

"Yeah, you wouldn't say that if you knew all the things I've done over the past twenty-two years," says Joel, moving away from Ellie.

"Well, I don't care what you did in the past, Joel, because the man I love is the man that's been taking care of me for the past two years. So if you're just worried because I'm only sixteen, don't be, because that doesn't matter to me."

"Well, it should. Even if what you say is true, what do you think is going to happen, Ellie? I'm going to be fifty-one in a few weeks and you're just sixteen. What kind of relationship do you think we're going to have?"

"See, you do have some feelings for me, you just think that you're too old for me. But you don't need to feel that way, because I don't care, Joel - you are the only man I'm going to love."

"Ellie, you are young and I'm just an old man. You're going to find love with someone your own age, you just need to find someone," says Joel, trying to encourage her to see another way.

"I don't need anyone else, because I have you," says Ellie, getting close to Joel again.

"Ellie, you have a future ahead of you. You have the chance for some kind of normal life in Jackson. Soon you're going to find a young man that is going to make you happy, give you children... and you're going to forget about this old man who's done nothing in this life but fuck everything up."

"That is what you think I'm going to do umm? If you think that, then you don't know me, Joel, because the only thing I'm thinking of now is you, and how we're going to live our life together forever."

"Ellie, my life is not going to be that long, so it's better for you to find someone young, there's no point of this." Then Joel walks out of the room and starts moving down the stairs.

"That is bullshit - we don't have any more time in this world than anyone else. We can die any moment - we just almost did a little more than a month ago. So why can't we spend the time we have together… we can enjoy that as long as it lasts," says Ellie, following him downstairs.

"C`mon, Ellie, get your things so we can go back to Jackson. Maria and Tommy are going to be up by now, and I have to find a way to explain all this."

"That's why you're afraid, Joel? Of what Tommy and Maria are going to think about all this, or the people of Jackson? That's hard to believe, because you don't give a damn about what people think about you, or us," says Ellie, trying to confront Joel now.

"You don't understand, Ellie, it's not that simple."

"Well then, why don't you just explain that to me, because all this time I haven't heard you say that you don't love me. The only thing you're telling me is excuses for why we can't be together."

"Ellie, you said that because you don't understand - what do you think is going to happen when the people find out, or Maria, hmm? And Tommy is definitely going to kill me," Joel says, looking at Ellie.

"I don't think your brother is going to kill you, Joel, and about the others, who cares - what are they going to do, throw us out? Maybe that's better, that way we can be together without people judging us - we lived out there for almost a year, we can make it if we find a decent place for us. This county is big enough."

"Ellie, I brought you to Jackson because you deserve a better life. That place has a piece of what we lost so long ago. Being out there is not as easy as you think. We got lucky, surviving the first time, but you know how it is out there, without food or water for days, not cleaning ourselves up for weeks."

"Well, I don't care that much if that's the price to be together, because I love you and I don't care if we get thrown out because of that," says Ellie, getting close to Joel, grabbing his face with her hands and kissing him on the mouth.

Joel just stays there in silence. He sees how Ellie lets go of the kiss and starts to walk upstairs again. He doesn't know what to do now; part of him wants to do the right thing, but the other part just wants to grab her and kiss her and tell her how much he loves her. Joel waits for a few minutes, hoping that Ellie went up there to get her things and come back down, but as he sees that she's not coming down, he decides to go up and bring her back to Jackson.

He goes back to the room where she was first, but she isn't there, so he starts to call her. "Ellie, we need to get back to Jackson, so stop playing around because this isn't funny," says Joel while he checks the other rooms. He stops when he arrives at the master bedroom of the house and sees Ellie waiting for him, sitting on the edge of the bed in there.

"Ellie, this is not a game, we need to go... now!" Joel says as soon as he enters the room.

"I know, Joel... I'm not playing, and now I'm going to give you a choice," says Ellie, standing up from the bed.

As soon as she does, Joel realizes that she's not wearing any pants and that she just has on one of his shirts. "Ellie, what the hell are you doing?" Joel says to her.

"Like I told you - giving you the choice of finishing what we started at the lake, before we got interrupted," says Ellie, getting close to him.

"Ellie, please, didn't you hear everything I just said?" Joel says, trying to step back from her.

"Yes I did… and from what I can remember, you didn't say anything like you don't love me, or that you don't want this. So if you're too scared of what people are going to say, I'm not. I love you, Joel, and I don't care about the age difference or what people are going to think." As Ellie stops talking, she moves quickly and throws her arms around Joel's neck, and starts kissing him on the mouth, passionately. Joel hits the wall of the room as soon as Ellie starts to push herself against him, the kiss deepening as Ellie's tongue tries to enter his mouth. Joel doesn't know what to do as millions of thoughts go through his mind. He loves this girl, but is it okay to act on those feelings he has?

His fight continues while Ellie presses herself to him. Joel feels that she's not wearing anything under the big shirt, so now his body is the one responding to the girl. Images and memories start to show in his mind, like the time he saw her in the bed touching herself before her birthday, the time when she showed up in his bed with a tank top and pink underwear, the bikini that she wore in the lake when he was teaching her how to swim, and kisses that she gave him when she crossed the lake. Joel tries to resist all the temptation, but it's in vain; his body starts to react to the two years without touching a woman. Then he hears her talking close to his mouth.

"Oh, Joel, please… I need this… I've been waiting for this… for a long time," Ellie says after she pulls out of the kiss a little, and tries to look him in the eyes with a pleading face.

"Ellie, I don't think that this is a good idea... maybe it's better if we just go back to town," Joel tells Ellie with the hope that she'll change her mind.

"I don't care if this is a good idea or not… please, Joel, I need something to hold on to… I need you." Then Ellie moves closer again and starts to kiss him more passionately.

Joel hears her plea for this, she wants this so much, and so does he, so Joel does what all men can do in that situation - he grabs Ellie`s legs and pulls them up to his waist, and then moves slowly to the bed. Ellie breaks the kiss again to get some air, and to her surprise, feels how Joel tosses her onto the bed. He gently moves his mouth to her neck, Ellie moaning from the sensation as she feels Joel sucking her there. Ellie's arousal starts to get stronger as soon as she feels Joel starting to unbutton her shirt. He's kissing her while taking it off, and as Joel finishes, he gets up and looks at Ellie`s naked body on the bed. He just sees how beautiful a woman she's become. Then Ellie is going to protest him stopping, but changes her mind when Joel bends down, grabs her left breast with his mouth and starts to massage that one, then starts to suck the other one.

Ellie arches her body from the sensation and starts to hold herself tight on the bed as soon as Joel bites her nipple gently. "Oh god" she almost screams in pleasure. After a few minutes, Joel lets go of her breast and starts kissing her on the stomach, and goes even lower until he gets between her legs. Even as he wants to take this girl and make love to her until they can't do any more, he decides that it's better if he only pleases her. So he opens her legs a little to have more access to her little pussy. She starts to moan as soon as she feels Joel's mouth on her womanhood. "Oh... fuck, Joel, this feels even better than all the dreams I have about you," says Ellie to Joel, with her eyes closed and feeling all kinds of pleasure in her body.

He starts slow at first, licking her folds and then maneuvering his tongue to enter her wet pussy. Hearing the sound of pleasure she is making, he starts to move faster as he continues sucking her up until he starts to savor her juices that are coming out now. As he feels encouraged by her moaning, he takes two of his fingers and starts to insert them inside of her. She moans again when she feels his long fingers enter her. He goes back down and starts to lick her up again while he moves his fingers inside of her faster now. "Fuck… oh god.. yes… Joel… please don't… stop," she starts to say in a high voice.

Joel starts to move faster as soon as he feels that she is going to climax soon; the little girl is just in the paradise of pleasure and she can't hold out for much longer. "Oh… fuck… Joel, I'm so clooose… now," she continues more loudly. As Joel feels that she's getting close to cum, he decides to end her agony and let her cum, so he moves faster and moves his mouth to suck her clit. As soon as Joel does that, Ellie can't resist anymore, "I'm coming… I... FUCK….JOEEEL!" she screams in pure pleasure as her pussy tightens around Joel's fingers, and her juice starts to come out of her as her orgasm finishes. Her heart beats a thousand miles an hour like it wants to leap out of her chest. Joel moves to her side, takes her in his arms, and holds her tight until she calms down from the excitement. Joel lays down on the bed trying to hold himself; he almost came himself but managed to hold on, so he needs to take care of that later. He is just happy that he gave the girl something she needed so badly. He feels a little bad, because that will make what he needs to do more difficult. But for now, there's nothing that he can do, so he just wants to be sure that Ellie is okay with the pleasure he just gave her. She quickly moves to his side and puts her head on his chest.

"Wow! Joel, that was… ummm… incredible, and hot, and you didn't even go inside of me - fuck, that felt so good," says Ellie, moving one hand on Joel's chest and playing with his shirt.

"Sorry, Ellie... I don't mean to be so hard on you-"

"Are you fucking kidding me, Joel? You don't need to apologize for this - this is the best orgasm I ever had in my entire life! It was even much better than the ones I give myself. Now I can't wait to feel you inside of me," she says, smiling at Joel.

Joel puts one hand on his face, trying not to think of what he just did. He loves this girl so much, but he needs to do something, and he is thinking if all this was a good idea. He closes his eyes as he tries not to feel Ellie's naked body almost on top of him now.

"Ummm… Joel!" she says without looking at him.

"Yes…" he answers.

"Thank you!" she says, looking at Joel now.

"You don't have to thank me for this, Kiddo," says Joel, trying not to look at her.

She puts her head back on Joel's chest and smiles. "Can we stay like this for a little while? I feel a little tired."

"Sure, kiddo, but we need to get back soon, okay?"

"Okay, thanks, Joel…. ummm Joel, the next time... can we… you know… do it?... I mean have real sex? "

"Ellie, can we talk about that later? Just rest a little and get something to clean yourself up, okay," says Joel, trying not to give much encouragement on that. After a few minutes of silence, Ellie speaks again.

"Umm… Joel!"

"Yes, Ellie!"

"I love you!" Ellie says, playing with his shirt a little. Joel stays silent for a while until he speaks back to her.

"I know!" Joel just says, as he looks at the ceiling of the old house, as a thousand thoughts cross his mind at the same time now.


	22. Chapter 22 : In to Deep

**Disclaimer :** I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog

 **A/N:** Hi to everyone that is reading this story, I want to thank you all, for all the support and review that you put in my first story. I`m glad that some of you like this one and I hope that you like the next one too. I want to give my especial thank to (Lumy 12) because she is not only my friend and inspiration to write this story. But also the one that give me the courage to do this, even Knowing that I'm not a write, and never write anything before. She is also like my beta writer too, she help me with the grammar and error, so all of you can have a better cleaner writing on this story, since my language is not English.

 **P.S.** The title of this chapter is the only title that is the name of a song ( In too Deep) by Genesis, I don't know is the song match much the contain of the chapter but I think is close and I like that song very much. So I hope that all of you have enjoy this story and follow the second one. There is another note at the End of the story, so you can read that, a soon you finish the chapter thanks.

* * *

 **Chapter 22 : In Too Deep**

 ***Two weeks earlier in another state***

In an old high school building in Wells City, Nevada, a man is running through one of the long hallways of the school with a paper in his hand. He passes some guards that are walking through there, but doesn't stop. Soon he reaches the end of the corridor and gets stopped by the guards at the front door of a big office.

"Stop right there - what's the big hurry?" says one of the guards by putting one of his hands in front of the new arrival.

"I need... to speak... to the boss…" says the new man, trying to catch his breath.

"Well, you'll have to wait. The boss is really busy right now," says the other guard.

"It's urgent," says the running man.

"Well, you have to wait. The boss is talking with one of the new doctors, and he doesn't want to be interrupted."

"He needs to hear this. I just came from the communication room, and we received a message from someone at the base in California," says the man.

"Okay, just wait here, I'll check," says the guard, then turns around and knocks on the door.

"What is it? I thought I said that I didn't want to be disturbed!" says the man inside.

"Sorry for disturbing you, sir, but a guy from Communications has a message for you, sir."

"Shit!... okay, let him in."

After that, the guard opens the door and lets the new man enter the room.

"Okay, Gregory, we'll continue this conversation later," says the boss.

"Okay, I'll go back to my laboratory, sir," says the doctor, and starts to walk to the door, passing the new man who entered the room.

"Okay, now, what is so urgent that you need to interrupt me?" asks the boss, a little pissed now.  
"Sorry to disturb you, sir, but we received a communication from one of the Fireflies' bases in California," says the man, now standing in front of the boss's desk.

"Well… don't just stand there, tell me what is the message?" says the boss, now impatient.

"The message said that the base in California was attacked by the military a few days ago, and that the survivors had to move to the one in Texas."

"Shit!... that base was one of the bigger ones we have. How did the military find them in there?"

"The only thing they know is that the attack was guided by Carlos`s group, sir."

"Fuck, I thought that that fucking mercenary didn't work for the military anymore," says the boss, hitting the deck hard with his fist.

"Sir… if some of the men there were captured, it's possible that they've revealed the position of this base by now."

"What did you say your name was?" asks the boss now.

"Alex, sir, I'm new here. Joined the Fireflies just two weeks ago."

"Well… Alex, since you are new here, I just want to tell you that I don't think that anyone in there is going to talk about the other bases, but just to be sure, go to Martha and tell her to contact the base in Texas. And tell her to inform them of the situation we have here, and ask for any advice, is that clear?" says the boss, sitting back down in his chair.

"Yes sir." The man turns around and starts on his way to the door.

"Hey… do you know Richard?" asks the boss.

"Yes sir, he is the chief of security here," answers the man.

"Good. I think he's on the second floor, so go there after you talk to Martha and tell him that I need to talk to him immediately."

"Yes sir, no problem." Saying that, he walks to the door and exits the room.

Two hours later, a man knocks on the door, and after he receives the reply to enter, he opens the door and enters.

"Did you send for me, Walter?" says the man as soon as he enters the room.

"Yes, Richard, it's possible that this installation is compromised, so we'd better start to move fast. I sent a message to Texas for advice, but I don't think we're going to receive any."

"So should I order the evacuation, sir?" says Richard.

"I don't think right away, but soon. Do you have any information on Jayson and his men?"

"No sir, we lost contact with them two weeks ago," answers Richard.

"Well, if that motherfucker Michael betrayed us, he is going to pay for that. I gave him a lot of guns, and if something happens to my men, he's going to regret that!"

"Do you think that something went wrong, sir?"

"I don't know, but I never trusted that man. I told Jayson to kill that bastard as soon as they found the girl and the old man," says Walter, standing up from the chair.

"You want me to prepare some men to go there, sir?" asks Richard.

"Yeah, prepare some vehicles and a few men, well-armed. I think it's time to pay a visit to those cannibals' town," says Walter, moving around in the room.

"Sir, do you think that the new council of Firefly leaders are going to continue to give you their support for this project? They're not happy about how the incident in Salt Lake City ended, the loss of the hospital and the doctors there, and-"

"I don't care what the council's opinion is going to be - if they give us the complete support that we need now, maybe this project will have better results. That girl is vital to this project, and the old man that helped her is going to pay for what he did. That Michael guy said that he had some idea where they were. So maybe it's time to pay a visit to his town and get some answers, don't you think?" says Walter with a furious voice.

"Okay, sir, I will go and prepare everything so we can go as soon as possible. But what are we going to do if the base in Texas calls and wants us to stop all of this?"

"I don't care about that now. We are close - the doctor just told me that the last immune we found was a great advance in the experiment. But, bad for us - he died yesterday, so now we need to move and find another one," says Walter, sitting back again in his chair.

"Okay, I checked on Ronald`s group to see if he found someone new in New Mexico. That was the last time we contacted him. After that, we can start to move out to the temporary facility, until the new one is ready to go," says Richard, now walking to the door.

"Richard?" says Walter, making the other man stop and look at him.

"Yes sir, do you need something else?" says Richard.

"If this Michael didn't find those two, we need to double the effort on finding that girl - her immunity was special, and we need her for our project."

"Don't worry, sir, we're going to find her, and the man responsible for the death of… Marlene."

"Thank you, Richard, I know that I can count on you for all this," says Walter, smiling.

"Don't worry, sir - no matter what the new council says, all the people here will always be loyal to you." After that, the man turns around and leaves the office, leaving his boss alone.

 ***Present day in Jackson***

It's been four days since the farm incident with Joel and Ellie. Now Joel is sitting at the kitchen table waiting for Tommy. Ellie went to work in the clinic today; lately, she's been there more than at the other jobs she has. Since the attack, there are still some patients there who need more assistance, so Doctor Wilson asked Ellie if she can spend more time in there to help. Ellie doesn't want to spend much time close to Rose, but after the last time the woman went to the house and asked for Joel, Ellie told her that Joel was okay and that she didn't need to ask about him anymore. Ellie made sure that she understood that after that day, she should never come back to the house, so Ellie is working more days in the clinic but always tries not to talk much with Rose, unless it's regarding medical things.

After the farm, Ellie tried several times to go back to sleep in Joel's bed with him, but Joel just made some excuse and convinced her to go back to sleep in her bed. Of course, Ellie wasn't happy with that; after they shared some intimate time together, she didn't understand why Joel didn't want her to sleep in the bed with him. She even told him that they don't need to do anything, at least for now, but Joel insisted that it was better if she slept in her bed. Now Joel thinks that what happened was a mistake, that now Ellie wants to be closer to him than before... it's not that he doesn't love that girl - he does, more than anything, but what he needs to do now is going to be more difficult and painful. Now he is waiting for Tommy to arrive at his house so he can talk with him about what he needs to do.

 _Damn, Ellie, why'd you have to go to that farm, and… why did I do what I did? Why didn't I think first about what I was going to do - or the consequences of that? Not that I don't want to be- I know that I love Ellie, and I can see that she loves me back, but this isn't right. She's only sixteen, and I'm just an old man, what future can we have... what's going to happen if we continue with this? What will Maria and Tommy say when they find out - or all the people that live here? The only thing that I care about more than the love I feel for Ellie is her safety. I'm not going to let what happened to Sarah happen to Ellie. I'm going to protect her no matter what I have to do. If that means breaking her heart and all the promises I made to her, so be it. She deserves a better life than the one I can give her. And after what I did in that farm, now it's going to be more difficult to do this, but it's something I need to do- Joel is taken out of his thoughts by a knock on the door._

"You can come in, Tommy, the door's open," says Joel, now waiting for the person to enter.

"How'd you know it was me?" says Tommy when he enters the kitchen and sees Joel sitting at the table.

"Because Ellie just went to work an hour ago, so that means that you were the only one that was coming here today."

"Okay, now what did you want to talk to me about? You told me last week that you feel better and asked me to give you some wall shifts. So it's not that... is it something that has to do with Ellie?" asks Tommy, now sitting at the table close to Joel.

"Well… yes, it's something to do with her, but I need to talk to you about something else, too. After that, I have a favor to ask you," says Joel, trying to find a way to tell Tommy all about the situation.

"Okay… so what's the problem you have that you need a favor from me? You know that Maria and I are still dealing with all that happened in the attack, right?"

"Yes I know, but I need to talk to you about those Firefly men that you and Carl`s men killed," says Joel, getting a little nervous.

"What about them? You said that you don't know anything about them," says Tommy, looking at Joel with curiosity.

"Well, I lied a little about that," says Joel, waiting for Tommy's reaction.

"What?... Joel, what the hell, you know that this is important to the town - the last thing we need is those Fireflies coming here looking for trouble. We're already dealing with a lot of people dead and injured, not to mention the damage to the town," says Tommy, a little furious.

"I know that, and I'm sorry about what happened… the last thing I want is those bastards coming here looking for me or Ellie and causing more problems for you or the town. So that is why I need to do what I have to do now."

"What the hell are you talking about, brother?" asks Tommy, uncertain about what Joel means by that.

"Well, for starters, those Firefly men were working with that Michael creep. It seems that their leader was looking for us, and he made a deal with that Michael guy. They were the ones that gave those attackers most of the weapons they used," Joel starts to explain.

"Shit!… so you think that they informed their boss that you and Ellie were here?"

"I don't know… well, I don't think so, because if they did, those assholes should be here by now. So this is the reason why I have to go and find this guy, to make sure that they don't come here looking for Ellie."

"Wait, what?… what are you talking about, brother? What do you mean by 'find this guy'?" Tommy asks with a worried expression on his face.

"Tommy, those Fireflies that you fought... they were looking for Ellie, and you see now what they did to the town. All the people that they killed. I don't think that you or Maria want that to happen again, do you? That's why I need to find this guy and stop them before all of this happens again. I don't want that on my conscience."

"Joel, we don't blame you or Ellie for what happened. You didn't know they were going to attack the town anyway. You said that they attacked another town before, and Ma-"

"Oh please, Tommy, you know that as soon as the people of this town know that the attack was because those cannibals wanted revenge on us, or that the Fireflies are looking for us, they're going to want to get rid of us. Not that I blame them. For me, I don't really care what people say or do; if they want me out of here, I'm not going to argue with that, but I don't want that for Ellie. She deserves something better after all the things that happened to her."

"Joel, that's crazy?... Going after this leader of the Fireflies by yourself is just… madness? You're going out there to try to find a man and kill him? What about Ellie? Are you just going to leave her here?" asks Tommy, looking at Joel with an incredulous expression.

"Brother, this guy is after Ellie, and no way am I going to let those bastards get their hands on her again. I thought that this was over when I killed those bastards in the hospital, but now I see that it's not. So now I have to finish this. I'm going to go and find that bastard first and make sure that they don't come after Ellie again."

"Joel, I understand that you want to protect Ellie, but this is crazy, and what do you think Ellie is going to do when she finds out that you went out there to kill a Firefly leader? You didn't even tell her about what happened in Salt Lake City - don't you think that she's going to ask why you want to kill a Firefly leader and why they're still looking for her?" says Tommy, trying to find a reasonable reason to stop Joel from going through with it.

"I'll leave her a letter explaining why I left. You know that what I did in Salt Lake City was for her; I condemned the world because I didn't want to lose someone I love again. Especially since I knew that those bastards didn't know what they were doing, and from what I heard from the doctor here, I was right. I just want a better life for her, the one that… Sarah didn't get the chance to have, and I know that she can be happy here. You and Maria are making a good start here, and I don't want the Fireflies to come here and destroy everything you, Maria, and all these people here created," Joel says with some tears in his eyes.

"Jesus, Joel, you don't need to do this - if those bastards come looking for you or Ellie, we can fight them back. We're not going to sit back and let them destroy what we built here. We're in this together, so you don't need to go out there and get yourself killed just to protect Ellie and this town," says Tommy, trying to convince his brother.

"Yeah, I know that you and your people can defend this place, but at what cost? Look what happened last month - all those people who got killed, and that was only a small group. What do you think is going to happen when those Fireflies come here with a little army? No, I'm not going to let that happen. That's why I need to do this, and the only thing I ask is that you and Maria take care of Ellie. She's a good girl, and she's going to need someone to love her and take care of her," says Joel, standing up from the table and pacing around, looking at his brother.

"I think I can understand what you're trying to do, Joel, but how do you think we're going to do that for Ellie, ummm? That girl loves you so much. I've seen that since you two came to live here. So she's not going to take this well... that girl is inseparable from you. If you go, that's going to hurt her, and I'm sure that she's not going to sit here and wait for you to come back," says Tommy.

"Tommy, that's why I need you and Maria to make sure that she stays here. I know that this is going to hurt her, and that is the last thing I want to do, but when I go, the only thing I want to know is that she's going to be safe here. As you are my brother, the only thing I'm going to ask of you is that you make sure of that, no matter what you have to do, you keep her here safe, don't let her go out of the town. I know that she has some way to get out, so keep an eye on her and make sure that she doesn't."

"Okay, Joel… I'll do my best, but I still think that this is crazy. Going after this guy... you think you're going to stop them alone? You thought when you killed Marlene and all the doctors in Salt Lake City you were going to stop them, and look at them now - they're still alive and kicking," says Tommy.

"Well, the army almost destroyed them after that. I don't know how they came back again. I'm not going to do this alone - the army's still after them, and I have some people out there that owe me some favors. But I know that I can keep them out of here for now. They only know Ellie by the name, but they have a full description of me, so when I go, I can keep them looking for me and keep them out of Jackson."

"Well I still think that you don't need to do this, but the only thing I'm sure of is that Ellie is going to get hurt from this. That girl loves you so much that sometimes I think you two are meant to be together. I can see how much she's changed you in the last two years, and you gave her a life and love that I'm sure she didn't have before. And you want to destroy all that?"

"Tommy, the only thing I want is for her to live a better life and be safe. I don't care what you have to do to make sure of that. I will leave her a letter trying to explain everything, but you need to make sure that she doesn't follow me. If you have to tell her what I did in the hospital, just do it. I know that she's going to hate me for that, but at least she'll be safe, and I know that in time, she'll understand," says Joel, sitting back at the table.

"Joel… I still think that you don't need to do this, but I understand why you're doing it, even if I think all this is just crazy... but are you sure that you going out there and trying to kill this guy is the only reason you have to go? Because I see that you and Ellie are acting strange lately," says Tommy, now waiting for Joel to answer.

"Yes! Tommy, that's the only reason I have to do this. I don't know why you ask that?" _And I'm sure that you don't want to hear the other reason I have to do this. The one that your fifty-year-old brother is in love with a sixteen-year-old girl - oh, and I just had oral sex with her a few days ago, too, you think you can handle that, brother?_ "Tommy, I know that's going to be hard for all of you, especially Ellie, but this is going to be for the best, believe me," says Joel, putting his hand on the table and looking at Tommy more seriously now.

"Okay… okay, Jesus, bro... Joel, you are my brother, and even though sometimes we don't get along well, you're still family. I want you to know that no matter what happens, you're always going to be welcome here. I will do my best to keep Ellie here and safe, even though I know she is going to be devastated when she finds out that you're gone."'

"Thank you, brother, I know that you'll do your best. I will try to come back if I can, when all this is over, and I hope that Ellie understands... and that someday she forgives me," says Joel, looking at the table.

"Okay, since I can't convince you to stay, how are you going to get out of town without Ellie finding out?" says Tommy, looking at Joel.

"Just give me a few days and keep Ellie occupied for at least a day. I can go by then, and that'll give me some time to get far away from Jackson."

"Jesus, Joel, you're going to go before your birthday? Ellie's already been talking with Maria about that."

"Yeah, I know, and believe me, it'll be better this way. If I go after my birthday, it's going to be worse for Ellie."

"Okay, Joel, I hope that you know what you're doing, and that all this doesn't end badly for all of us," says Tommy, standing up.

"Thanks, brother, I really appreciate all you've done for me and Ellie all this time. I know that she is going to be in good hands," says Joel, standing up as well and going to his brother to give him a big hug.

 ***A few days Later***

A few days have passed since the conversation between Joel and Tommy. Ellie's still a little confused about how Joel's been acting with her. _I know that he loves me - for God's sake, we had some oral sex... well, he did, anyway, and that was fantastic. I've never felt better in all my life. I tried to return the favor, but he didn't let me. But now I feel like he's somewhat distant, like he's trying to stay away from me. Why is he doing that? I need to talk to him soon about what is bothering him... yeah, I'll do that as soon as I get back to the house._ Tommy and Ellie are on horseback, on the way to the dam. Tommy showed up at Joel's house in the morning to ask Joel if he can use Ellie for a job: one of the technicians on the dam broke his leg doing a repair job in there. As the doc and the nurse are needed in town, Ellie was the only person with enough experience to help the man. So Tommy asked Joel if he could take Ellie there with him to help. Of course, Ellie protested a little at first because she didn't want to leave Joel alone. But after Joel let her know that she needs to help Tommy and everything's going to be okay, she agreed to go. She went to her room to prepare some things that she'll need out there, and when she came down, Joel gave her a hug and told her that he loved her very much.

Ellie found that a little strange, because he hadn't said much since they came back from the little farm almost a week ago. After they arrive at the dam an hour later, Tommy takes Ellie to see the patient and start to work on him. Tommy goes to talk to some of the people there. After two hours of Ellie treating the man, she informs Tommy that he can't be moved, that he has some cuts and a broken bone in one of his legs, and that he needs to be attended by the doctor, but he can't be moved. Tommy instructs her to just keep an eye on him and that he'll consult with the doc. It's already afternoon, so they need to stay there for awhile.

When Tommy calls the doctor and explains the situation, the doctor lets him know that he's going to do a little operation on a patient and that's why he can't go to the dam. But if the injury is serious, they need to keep him under watch for at least 24 hours to check that the wound doesn't get infected or the patient goes into shock. So Tommy tells Ellie that they need to stay there until the morning. Ellie immediately protests; she just wants to go home as soon as possible. She doesn't know why, but she has a bad feeling about all this. But as Tommy explains to her, Ellie doesn't have any other choice.

In the morning, Tommy tells the man in charge of the dam that he's going to send a vehicle to pick up the injured man now that he can be moved. They depart from the dam and arrive at the town at 9:00am. Ellie quickly lets go of her horse and runs to their house to see Joel. When she enters the house, Ellie starts to call Joel. Tommy tells one of the guards to take the horses back to Victor and soon after, he follows Ellie to the house, but doesn't enter.

"Joel!... Joel!... are you upstairs?" asks Ellie when she doesn't see him in the living room. She continues calling him, but doesn't get any response, and when she looks toward the kitchen, she sees something on the table. Ellie enters the kitchen, moves close to the table, and sees an envelope with her name on it. As soon as she sees the envelope, she feels that something is not right. Joel promised her that he wouldn't leave her another note if he needed to do something when she wasn't home. She takes the envelope in her trembling hand and opens it, her worst fears starting to manifest as soon as she unfolds the paper and starts to read.

 _Dear Ellie,_

 _Sorry I have to leave this in a note, I know how much you hate that, but if I do this in person, I know that I won't be able to do so. We've done a lot of things and got through harder ones in the time we were together. I know that I promised that I'd never leave you and would always protect you. But to do the last one, I need to do something and I have to do it alone. I have some unfinished business that I need to attend to, and it's going to be too dangerous for you. Sorry that I broke the more important promise, but I have to do this. Please don't think that you did something wrong, because you didn`t. Also don't think that I don't love you, because I do, more than you know. I will try to come back as soon as I finish what I have to do, and in the meantime, Tommy and Maria are going to take care of you. They're going to be your family now. They are good people and I know that my brother is going to make sure that you will be okay. Sorry I have to do this, but I think that this is the best way for all of us. I brought you here for a reason, so you could have a fresh start and be safe. You changed my life, and I'm always going to thank you for that, you gave me a reason to live, but sometimes the past follows you and you have to deal with it. The time I spent with you is the best I've had in a long time, but I'm not the good man you think I am, and all the bad things I did in the past will always come back to haunt me. You need to be brave, Ellie, be a better person than me, make new friends and make a life for yourself, I know that you can do that. You deserve that. Hope that someday we meet again, until then have a good life and remember that I'm always going to love you no matter what._  
 _Goodbye Kiddo, love you always,_

 _Joel Miller_

After Ellie finishes reading the letter, she drops to her knees and starts to cry so hard that Tommy hears her from the front of the house. He quickly opens the front door and enters the house. When he enters the kitchen, he sees Ellie crying on the floor, so he gets down beside her and holds her.

"Ellie, I'm sorry, but everything is going to be fine, I promise?" says Tommy, trying to comfort her.

"Promise?... You knew!... you knew that he was going to go and you tricked me and took me to the dam, so I wouldn't be here when he was leaving," Ellie accuses him, breaking the hold he has on her and looking at him with furious eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ellie, but it's something he needs to do alone, and he just wants you to stay here and be safe," says Tommy, trying to hold her again.

"He doesn't have to go alone… to do whatever he needs to do - we can do it together? He promised that he's never going to leave me… he promised, and you helped him do this… why?" says Ellie, starting to cry again.

"I know that this hurts, Ellie, but he's doing what he thinks is right. He's going to be okay and he needs to do this alone. Don't worry, Ellie, he's going to come back… someday. And when he does, everything is going to be fine."

"Nothing is going to be fine… Tommy, not without Joel, and he's not going to be safe out there," says Ellie, breaking away from Tommy and standing up. Then she moves to go upstairs, but Tommy moves quickly and stands in front of her.

"Where do you think you're going?" asks Tommy, unsurprising.

"Where do you think?... I'm going to get my things and go to find him," says Ellie, trying to pass Tommy.

"Sorry, Ellie, but I can't let you do that - I promised Joel that you will stay here no matter what," says Tommy, trying to hold Ellie by the shoulder.

"Well… you are Joel's brother and I can see that he likes to break promises, so why don't you do  
the same?"

"Sorry, but I can't let you go," says Tommy, looking at her firmly.

"Well, you are Joel's family, not mine, so you can`t stop me or keep me here. So stay out of my way," says Ellie with some tears forming in her eyes.

"Well, if I can't stop you from leaving, maybe I can convince you to change your mind."

"Nothing that you say is going to change my mind," says Ellie, trying to move again.

"You will after I tell you what really happened in Salt Lake City!"

 **This Story will Continue….**

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for the cliffhanger, I know this is not the end that you waiting for, but what happen next is part of the sequel, so if you want to know what happened to Ellie and Joel, just follow the next part of the story, because is not over yet. Even that this is the last chapter of this part of the story, I want to let you know that Joel  & Ellie journey is not over yet, so I hope that the people who is reading this story, continue with the next one too. The Sequel is already in process so I hope that I can start to post that a soon I have some chapters done. That is going to take a little time, so I hope that you can be little patience. Thank you for all you support and comments and I hope that all of you, follow the next one too thank you.


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